One of the simplest ways to increase your health is to add Avocados to your weekly regime.
In this modern Western world we all too often stick to the same old fruits and vegetables, if we eat vegetables at all, as an example my cousin at age 49 had until recently never tried Avocado, unfortunately for him the one he tried wasn’t ripe so it was a bit like trying to eat a shoe, but I’m sure he’ll have another go, hopefully before he’s 50!
Avocados are actually a fruit, with a tough-looking leathery skin they are sometimes called ‘Alligator Pears’ (a much cooler name to be fair!), once inside the skin a ripe Avocado is soft, mushy even, it has a large stone in the centre, about the size of a Golf ball.
The taste of Avocado is quite bland in comparison to most fruits, but it is however very palatable, the fact it can be mashed very easily makes it a great mixer, I like to add some Tabasco and black pepper to make a filling for a folded omelette, Mexican style!
The real benefits of Avocado are what it does inside your body, not inside your mouth!
It has a high fat content, now don’t go running for the hills, Weight Watchers got it wrong, fat isn’t the enemy, especially not mono-unsaturated fat which is the main constituent of an Avocado’s fat.
The fat in the Avocado will aid with satiety, meaning you won’t get hungry so quickly, so just like we know Olive Oil is our friend, the oil of the ‘Alligator Pear’ is just as friendly.
As a little side note: Avocados have the second highest fat content of any fruit, coming in behind Olives!
High levels of Potassium, Copper, Iron and Magnesium can be found in Avocados making them useful for healthy blood and to aid with with the heart and the nervous system, conversely they are low in sugar and free from starch so anyone who is Diabetic, or for those looking to avoid Diabetes (who isn’t?) they are an excellent choice.
So that should hopefully create enough of a case for you to at least try the Alligator Pear, they certainly will help you in your fight for a healthier you, just don’t end up like my cousin, give it a little squeeze before you cut it, if it’s as hard as a rock leave it another couple of days!
Paul Glazby