Avocado: 95% benefit and 5% harm to the body

Increasingly, avocados can be seen on the shopping list of Russians. The benefits and harms of this fruit for the body have not been fully studied. Scientists tirelessly conduct research and make more and more new discoveries. We invite you to learn about the unusual properties of this wonderful fruit.

And yet, avocado is a fruit.

For many, a fruit must be sweet and juicy. Avocados, both in taste and chemical composition, are more like vegetables. It is also confusing that in some supermarkets it is found next to cucumbers, and in others - with apples.

In fact, there are fruits that even scientists are confused about. For example, tomatoes, eggplants and cucumbers. But this does not apply to avocados. The answer to the question, is it a fruit or a vegetable, is clear.

Avocado is a fruit. It grows on an evergreen fruit tree with the wonderful name Perseus (from the name of the ancient Greek mythological hero). The fruit contains a seed, with the help of which the tree reproduces. Everything is like other fruits.

Hero of prints and fiery songs

Many people know avocados from the cheerful images on T-shirts and the song that sounded a couple of years ago on every corner: “Avo-avocado, avo-avocado, it’s just between you and me...”

But what exactly is the mystery fruit?

• View. It resembles a large pear with a huge pit inside. Avocado peel is dense, green, and often lumpy. A sort of mixture of pear and crocodile. The fruit is called “alligator pear.” If you cut it, you will find pulp with an oily consistency and a delicate yellow-green color.
• Taste. Avocado cannot be confused with anything else. It contains a lot of fat. Its taste can be compared to sweetish butter mixed with pureed greens. In some varieties you can clearly hear notes of nuts, pears, mushrooms, sausages, yogurt, and processed cheese. And if the fruit is unripe, then its flesh is bitter.
• Smell. The aroma of fresh avocado is subtle, unsweetened, exotic, buttery and nutty.

Few people know that these fruits are very ancient. They were cultivated by the Aztecs and were called huacatl, which means “forest oil.”

Why is avocado so healthy?

Nutritionists recommend avocados for weight loss, traditional healers for constipation, and doctors for lowering cholesterol in the blood. It contains a record amount of healthy fatty acids, oils, vitamins and antioxidants.

In 1998, avocados were included in the Guinness Book of Records as the most nutritious fruit.

100 g of pulp contains only 1 g of sugar and a very large amount of vitamins B, C, E, K, D, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, monounsaturated fats, potassium, copper, magnesium, and antioxidants.

What are the benefits of avocado?

• Positively affects the functioning of the heart.
• Increases stress resistance.
• Normalizes blood pressure.
• Reduces blood cholesterol levels.
• Promotes weight loss.
• Improves concentration and memory.
• Normalizes the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and eliminates constipation.
• Protects cells from aging and has rejuvenating properties.

The fruit is recommended to be included in the diet of vegetarians, people with cardiovascular diseases and diabetics. In type 2 diabetes, it helps maintain blood glucose levels and improves lipid profile.

To help those losing weight

Having tasted the fatty pulp, many come to the conclusion that the exotic fruit is not suitable for dietary nutrition. Indeed, if you look at how many calories are in an avocado, you will be horrified - as much as 160 kcal per 100 g of pulp. For comparison, high-calorie potatoes and bananas contain 77 and 89 kcal, respectively.

Despite the high fat content, avocado fruits are dietary. The fact is that all the fats in them are healthy and do not contain cholesterol. And also:

• the fruits are nourishing;
• can replace mayonnaise in salads;
• reduce nervousness when dieting.

Benefits for the reproductive system

Avocado is recommended to be included in the diet of couples who are planning to conceive a child, and simply if they want to improve their sex life. Its use as an aphrodisiac has been described since the 16th century. The Indians used the fruits to increase libido and speed up childbirth.

Beneficial features:

• The pulp of the fruit contains a lot of folic acid, which is especially important for women during pregnancy.
• Vitamin E is necessary for the proper functioning of the sex glands and the production of hormones.
• Avocado reduces the risk of cervical dysplasia.
• In men, the fruit helps increase the amount of ejaculate and increases the number of active sperm.
• The fruit awakens sexual fantasies and libido.

Green pill of youth and beauty

Avocado contains vitamin E, which improves the production of collagen and elastin. If you regularly eat it, your hair will be shiny, your skin will be healthy, your nails will be strong, and your face will be wrinkle-free.

You can use the fruit not only internally, but also externally. Women make masks from it to moisturize the skin and eliminate hair brittleness. Avocado relieves inflammation and irritation, which is why it is used to treat acne.

Harm

Avocado can be harmful:

• when consumed in large quantities;
• in the presence of serious illnesses and allergies;
• when eating fruits along with the pit and peel.

The peel, pit and leaves of avocados contain the toxic substance persin. This toxin causes poisoning in humans, and death in animals and birds.

Nutritionists advise introducing fruit into the diet gradually. Its composition is quite specific. An allergic reaction, diarrhea, heaviness in the stomach and nausea may occur.

Remember: the pit and peel cannot be eaten.

Types of Avocado

There are about 400 varieties of avocados. Fruits are grown in their historical homeland in Mexico, as well as in the USA, Israel, Indonesia and other countries with tropical and subtropical climates. By the way, among Mexicans the “avocado business” is considered very profitable. Its profitability is as high as drug trafficking.

Despite the variety of varieties, in Russian supermarkets you can most often find 3 types of avocados:

• Hass (haas is a misnomer). The most common variety in the world. More than 85% of all avocados grown are of this variety. The skin of the fruit is pimply, dark, the flesh has a greenish tint. Hass is a moderately fatty variety with a rich palette of flavors.
• Dominican. It very rarely ends up on Russian shelves.If you manage to meet him, take him without hesitation. It is large in size. The peel of the fruit is green, pimply, and the pulp is sweet.
• Israeli. Less tasty than African and Dominican varieties. Most often, Israeli avocados have a smooth and thin skin that breaks easily. The pulp is low-fat. It is best eaten in salads or baked.

The best and most unusual varieties:

• Ryan – a very fatty type with yellow flesh with the taste of mashed potatoes.
• Ettinger – super tasty with low fat content. It becomes even tastier when it sits. The taste of the pulp may resemble fried mushrooms, processed cheese, nuts, yogurt, and sausages.
• Pinkerton – characterized by a very small bone. African fruits are especially tasty and fatty, while Israeli fruits, on the contrary, are low-fat and taste like carrots.
• Pura Vida – has the shape of a bottle gourd. The fruits are very large and can weigh up to 1.3 kg.
• Fuerte - considered the most delicious. The smooth-skinned fruit has a pleasant sweet-creamy taste.
• Bacon – the leanest and most watery variety. The skin of the miniature fruits is light green, as is the pulp.
• Reed - spherical fruits with the same round stone. The pulp tastes like a mixture of pear and nuts.
• Zutano - one of the best varieties. The fruits are pear-shaped, with a thin and smooth green skin. The pulp is fatty, tasty, snow-white or creamy, and tastes like an apple.
• Mexicola – dark purple or black avocados weighing up to 100 g.
• Semil-34 - elite variety. The fruits are juicy, with a fruity taste that becomes buttery and nutty as they ripen.
• Royal black - elite variety. It is distinguished by its deep black peel and yellow flesh.

In the summer months they ripen: Fuerte, Bacon, fatty varieties Pinkerton, Reed.

During the winter season you can buy: Hass, Zutano, Ryan, Ettinger, low-fat Pinkerton variety.

We eat avocado

Mexicans eat avocados almost every day. Here it is as common as potatoes in Belarus. To reap maximum benefits, it is eaten raw. The fruit is also included in traditional Mexican dishes (guacamole and others).

Before eating or cooking anything, peel the avocado:

1. Cut the fruit lengthwise into two halves without cutting through the pit.
2. Remove and discard the pit.
3. Using a tablespoon, scoop out the pulp and place it on a plate.

How to eat avocado raw:

• With a spoon. Sprinkle the cut fruit with lemon juice or 1% vinegar. Eat the pulp by scooping it straight from the peel with a spoon.
• With toast or cracker. Crush the pulp with a fork. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with lemon juice and spread like butter.

Lemon juice prevents the avocado flesh from darkening.

Cooking avocado

Avocado is usually used to prepare:

• salads;
• sushi and rolls;
• snacks;
• guacamole sauce.

The oily pulp goes well with fish and seafood, eggs, ham, chicken, and citrus fruits.

Simple and delicious recipes:

• Sandwiches. Spread the avocado pulp onto the bread. Place a thin piece of salmon on top. Decorate with greens.
• Salad. Boil 300 g of shrimp. Cut 1 peeled avocado and 300 g canned pineapple into cubes. Mix, sprinkle with chopped herbs. Top with yogurt.
• Snack. Grind the pulp of 1 fruit, 200 g of cottage cheese or feta cheese, and herbs in a blender. Spread on toast.
• Quick breakfast. Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit and slightly enlarge the hole. Break 2 quail eggs into each half.Bake in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for 15 minutes.
• Guacamole sauce. Grind in a blender (roughly): peeled avocado, small onion, half a bell pepper, small chili, tomato, quarter of a lemon without peel. Salt and add 1-2 tbsp. spoons of olive oil. Serve with corn tortillas or steaks.

Who is the ripest here?

Very often people do not understand the taste of avocado because they try the wrong fruit for the first time. It often ends up on store shelves unripe: hard, insipid, with an unpleasant bitterness. The other extreme is an overripe fruit with very fatty puree-like pulp.

How to choose the right ripe and tasty avocado?

• Squeeze the fruit in your hand. It should be soft but elastic, like an inflated rubber ball.
• Shake it near your ear. Ripe fruit will respond with a barely audible sound of the seed.
• Inspect the skin. It should be smooth, without holes, cracks or darkened areas.
• Pay attention to the top of the fruit. If the neck is visible instead of a simple rounding, it means that the fruit has ripened on the tree and will be especially tasty.

It is better to buy a hard avocado than a soft and overripe one.

2 ways to ripen an avocado

The advantage of the fruit is that it ripens even after it is picked from the tree.

What to do with hard avocados?

• Place the fruit in a plastic bag along with an apple or banana. Tie and leave on the table for a day. The trick of this method is that apples and bananas emit ethylene gas, which promotes the rapid ripening of everything that is nearby.
• Wrap the avocado in craft paper and place it in a cool, dark place. After 2-3 days it will become suitable for consumption.

Although avocados are more than 20,000 years old, they have only become popular in Russia in recent years. To this day, green fruits that look like large unripe pears do not inspire confidence in many people. It is worth recognizing that the taste of the oily pulp is specific. To appreciate an avocado, you need to choose the right fruit. Some people like it exclusively in salads and wraps. In any case, eating it is very useful. Varieties that are characterized by a high fat content replace meat and eggs. Avocado is a very valuable product for vegetarians and anyone who follows a healthy diet.