Avocado

Geschatte leestijd: 5 minuten Is avocado healthy? How can you best eat avocado? Perhaps more importantly: Why should you eat avocado? We delve into the unique properties of this fruit and its popularity, describing various ways to eat avocados.

The Origin of Avocado

Mexico is the homeland of the avocado where they grow on trees. These pear-shaped fruits with soft and creamy flesh mainly grow in the tropical rainforests there, and the locals call them: Abogado. The literal translation of “abogado” is: butter from the forest. Only later, around the 17th century, were they cultivated in, among other places, the Dutch Antilles, but also in America on the west coast. Nowadays, avocados come from many more countries. Just take a look at the packaging in the supermarket. There’s a good chance you’ll see countries like South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, or Israel.

Eating Avocado

There are foods that people love or hate. Think of herring and chicory, preferably not in combination. Avocado also falls into that category. For example, my wife and daughter love it, but I’m less enthusiastic. But that’s mainly about taste and texture. When it comes to nutrients, I should be a fan of this fruit. Good fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and fibers. Hence this exploration. To make it clear to myself why I should add avocado to my diet more often. To counter the argument “I don’t like it”, I will explore different ways to eat it.

Avocado: Fruit with Unique Properties

Avocado differs in some respects from most other types of fruit. It contains much more fats and proteins than most types of fruit. In the Netherlands, popular fruits such as apples, strawberries, and oranges mainly contain carbohydrates as a source of energy, but hardly any fats. However, avocados contain twice as much fat as carbohydrates.

Is Avocado Healthy?

A whole fruit consists of more than 85% unsaturated fat. In addition, 1 avocado provides about 4 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber. Calorie-wise, it’s about 250 per piece. There was a time when people would be shocked by that. “85% fat? That’ll make you fat!” Nowadays, it’s mainly carbohydrates that are considered responsible for the epidemic of obesity. Both carbohydrates and fats are important sources of fuel. Fats provide over twice as many calories per gram as carbohydrates. Whether this energy source fits into your diet and where, of course, depends on your personal nutritional needs. But in addition to unsaturated fats, avocados are also rich in potassium, calcium, and magnesium. The amount of potassium found in an avocado is even higher than the amount found in bananas. Like unsaturated fats, potassium can have a positive effect in preventing heart disease.

Fats in Avocado

The fats from an avocado can be particularly good sources for your daily healthy diet. The fats can have a positive effect on several hormones such as testosterone, but also on cholesterol levels. Approximately 75% of the fats in this fruit are unsaturated fats, including the omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). This type of fat has a (slight) increasing effect on (good) HDL cholesterol and thus has a lowering effect on total cholesterol.

Avocado Oil

Of the three types of omega-3 fatty acids (ALA, DHA, and EPA), ALA is the only essential omega-3 fatty acid because your body cannot produce it itself. It is also the only plant-based omega-3 fatty acid. Avocado oil can be an easy way to get this healthy fatty acid, especially for people who do not want or cannot use fish oil (a source of DHA and EPA).

Avocado: How to Eat?

The texture of avocado is similar to that of butter. Perhaps that’s a reason why some people don’t like this fruit. At least, that’s the case for me. First, because I don’t like butter, and second, because the taste and texture somehow don’t match with what my eyes see. I see a fruit and taste butter. So, a sandwich with slices of avocado doesn’t really make me happy. Ultimately, taste is a matter of habit. There are ways to make this process of habituation easier. Avocados have a fairly light, neutral taste. Added to other foods, this taste can quickly fade. So, if you want to benefit from the nutrients but don’t like the taste and texture, there are plenty of options.

Avocado Salad

Avocado can be a perfect addition to your salad. Lettuce itself hardly contains any calories and therefore also provides little energy. By supplementing it with avocado, you ensure a salad that doesn’t leave you hungry after the last bite. The fats provide a long-lasting source of energy and, together with the proteins, provide a feeling of satiety. The proteins themselves also provide energy, but do so very slowly and only in the absence of sugars. Moreover, proteins limit muscle breakdown. Handy if the salad is part of a weight loss diet. In that case, of course, make sure that the amount of fats is tailored to your daily needs. You can let your creativity run wild when making the salad and decide for yourself what to add. It may be wise to avoid any other sources of fats since the avocado often already meets the need for fats. A combination with cheese might not be a good idea.

Smoothie

You can even ‘hide’ an avocado in a smoothie more easily. After all, there’s nothing left of the buttery texture while the flavors of the other ingredients are often dominant. Smoothies often provide enough energy through the carbohydrates in the fruit. However, these can be fairly simple sugars that provide a quick but short-lived source of energy. By adding fats here, you can provide a longer-lasting source of energy. Like with the salads, the proteins in the avocado can be a nice addition. A smoothie with fruit mainly contains carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Proteins provide a source of amino acids to help muscles grow or prevent them from breaking down. As mentioned, proteins can also provide a higher level of satiety.

Guacamole

Avocados are the main ingredient of the popular Mexican dip sauce guacamole. I can’t think of an easier way to learn to eat them than dipping with your Doritos.

Making Guacamole

You can buy guacamole, for example, in the supermarket. However, this is not recommended if you’re concerned about the nutritional value of the avocados. The amount can be quite disappointing. In a 2014 study, the guacamole from Albert Heijn was found to contain only 0.7% avocado [1].

Guacamole Recipe

So, it’s better to do it yourself so you know what you’re getting. It’s not difficult either. Guacamole can be made in different ways. Typical basic ingredients are:

• Avocado (1)
• Garlic (1 clove)
• Lemon/lime juice (1)
• Chili pepper (1, without seeds)
• Tomato (1, peeled)
• Cilantro
• Salt and pepper
• Other spices

Per region, you can see many differences in ingredients. In this list, there is an example behind each ingredient of an amount/dosage you can use as a safe starting point. But feel free to experiment with what you like in terms of proportions and the spices you add.

Storing Avocado

Now that I’ve convinced myself, I walk into the supermarket this afternoon and buy a bag of avocados. Overenthusiastically, I buy too many, and then a few days later, I have a few brown instead of green avocados in my fruit bowl. That’s enzymatic browning. The fruit turning brown due to reaction with the air. To prevent this, there are a few simple tips on storing avocado:

• Sprinkle with lemon juice
• Store in the refrigerator
• Leave the pit in with half avocados

If an avocado is already ripe, the above tips can slow down the process of the avocado turning brown and getting a nasty smell. If it’s still too hard, be sure to leave it at room temperature so it can ripen.

References

1. Arme dip grootste marketingsmoes‘, De Telegraaf, 21 augustus 2014.