The Fruit You Love And Crave Is So Good For You

Yes, an avocado is a fruit, not a vegetable! Botanically, the avocado is a berry so when you are looking to get more fruit in your diet, reach for a delicious, nutritious avocado. Nutritionally, this beautiful green heart-healthy fruit which brings you so much joy, is a nutrition powerhouse and a healthy part of any meal. Whether you are enjoying a slice or quenching your craving with a half avocado with a pinch of salt, avocados have the “good” fats that love you back.

Avocados are virtually the only fruit with monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat (the good fats).

Per one-third serving of a medium avocado (50 g), it has all of this goodness:

• 80 calories and contributes nearly 20 vitamins and minerals
• A good source of five essential nutrients – fiber, folate, vitamin K, pantothenic acid (B5), and copper
• Low in saturated fat, and cholesterol, trans fat and sodium-free
• 6% of the Daily Value for vitamin E, an antioxidant that protects body tissue from damage and helps keep the immune system strong
• Act as a “nutrient booster” by helping increase the absorption of fat-soluble nutrients like vitamins A, D, K and E
• 6 g of good fats which help the body absorb fat-soluble nutrients without raising LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels when eaten as part of a healthy diet
• Over 75% of the fat in avocados is naturally good fat, with 5 g of monounsaturated fat per 50 g serving

Diets rich in healthy foods containing fiber, such as some vegetables and fruits, may reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes. Avocados are a good source of fiber.

Click here for more California Avocado Nutrition

Avocados can help consumers meet the Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations of the American Heart Association (AHA), which among others are to eat less of the nutrient-poor foods while limiting the amount of saturated fat, trans fat and sodium you eat. According to the AHA, saturated fats increase the risk for heart disease and, saturated and trans fats should be replaced with poly and monounsaturated fats.

Heart-healthy eating is an important way to lower your risk for heart disease and stroke. California Avocados are a Heart-Check food certified by the American Heart Association®.

More on the Heart-Check program and 15 Recipes Featuring Heart-Check California Avocados

In California Avocados, the greatest concentration of beneficial carotenoids is in the dark green fruit of the avocado closest to the peel. To get to the heart-healthy nutrient-dense fruit directly under the peel, one should nick and peel the skin from the avocado.

Visit CaliforniaAvocado.com for more facts about avocados, recipes, nutrition information and learn about the California Avocado Difference. You also can follow us on Facebook.com/CaliforniaAvocados, on Twitter.com/CA_Avocados, Instagram.com/CA_Avocados and Pinterest.com/CA_Avocados.