Avocados: How a fatty food can help you lose weight

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This creamy fruit, most famously known for being used in guacamole, is considered fatty but in a way that actually helps with weight loss and not the opposite.

Avocado is three-quarters fat and most of this is monounsaturated fat. This fat is considered a healthy fat which can actually lower bad cholesterol thereby reducing your risk of a stroke or heart disease. While this reason alone is enough to persuade you into eating more avocado, the fact that it is comprised mostly of monounsaturated fatty acids provides additional health benefits.

Weight Loss Benefits

Surprisingly avocado, a food high in fat and calories, can actually aid in weight loss efforts. Research is showing that monounsaturated fats are used to burn energy and are not stored as body fat. This leads to the feeling of satiation, meaning we are less likely to snack on other foods. Weight loss doesn’t happen by simply eating low-fat foods, especially since it means we’re just eating more and more of it. Snacking on healthy fats with less processed carbohydrates is by far a superior way of losing weight than eating low fat or trying to starve oneself.

Research is there to back this up too. A study showed that avocado consumption is actually associated with better nutrient intake and diet quality, and promotes a lower body weight.

Nutritional Value

If you’re still not convinced of avocado’s amazing health benefits you need to look at its nutritional makeup. Aside from its healthy fats, an average avocado contains about 4 grams of protein and 11 grams of dietary fiber. Avocados are rich in minerals and vitamins including vitamin B, C, E and K. Further, compared to most fruits avocado has a very low sugar content of approximately 0.2 grams.

Better Skin

You can thank the monounsaturated fats for a better skin tone, too. Due to the omega-9 and high vitamin C and E content, we can benefit from moister skin, a reduction in redness and irritation and protection from wrinkles and aging.

Try adding avocado to your salad, making guacamole or using avocado oil for cooking. The benefits are too good to miss.

Joanna Simons
Joanna is a natural health coach specializing in nutrition and natural beauty products.