An avocado a day keeps the cardiologist away

Of course, you would need to decrease your calorie intact elsewhere.

When I eat avocado, I cut it in two, remove the seed, and scoop out the insides with a spoon and eat it. Put the other half with the cut side down in a dish and put it in the refrigerator for the next day.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-01/ps-aaa010715.php

Public Release: 7-Jan-2015
Penn State

Adding an avocado to your daily diet may help lower bad cholesterol, in turn reducing risk for heart disease, according to health researchers.

Avocados are known to be a nutrient-dense food, high in monounsaturated fatty acids. Previous studies have suggested that avocados are a cholesterol-lowering food, but this is the first study -- to the researchers' knowledge -- to look at health implications of avocados beyond monounsaturated fatty acids.

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Kris-Etherton and colleagues tested three different diets, all designed to lower cholesterol: a lower-fat diet, consisting of 24 percent fat, and two moderate fat diets, with 34 percent fat. The moderate fat diets were nearly identical, however one diet incorporated one Hass avocado every day while the other used a comparable amount of high oleic acid oils -- such as olive oil -- to match the fatty acid content of one avocado. Hass avocados are the smaller, darker variety with bumpy green skin and have a higher nutrient content than Florida avocados, which are larger, and have smoother skin and a higher water content.

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She pointed out that much of the U.S. population doesn't know how to use or prepare avocados, with the exception of guacamole. However, guacamole is usually eaten with corn chips, which are high in both sodium and calories.

"People should start thinking about eating avocados in new ways," said Kris-Etherton. "I think using it as a condiment is a great way to incorporate avocados into meals -- for instance, putting a slice or two on a sandwich or using chopped avocado in a salad or to season vegetables."

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