I've recently had several clients asking me about Avocados and whether or not they are good for you, especially if your goal is weight loss (or fat loss to be more specific). In the past, Avocados have unfortunately been given the same kind of bad press that eggs were given due to the ever-growing Fat-Phobia that people on the 'weight-loss wagon' seem to have these days.
Before I continue, once again - I just want to remind everyone that not all fat is the enemy and that there are good and bad fats. Avocados are high in what are called Monounsaturated Fats which are very healthy as these types of fats help break down the bad fats such as Trans Fats (which you get from ready-made cakes, desserts, ice cream etc). By the way, that doesn't mean to say that if you eat Avocados - you can continue eating as many cakes and as much ice cream as you like! It doesn't work like that! :-)
Now to get to the main part you've been waiting for ...... Research published in the 'Archives of Internal Medicine' and reprinted on the American Diabetes Association website demonstrated that people following a "Modified Low-Carb Diet" higher in Monounsaturated fat lost more weight than a matched group of people following the standard National Cholesterol Education Program diet.
Monounsaturated fats are also a key component of the Mediterranean diet, which in every major study has been linked to lower rates of heart disease. Now for the people who know about Avocados already and will argue that there are also a few grams of saturated fats in an avocado - to put your minds at ease, it's the kind of saturated fat that you shouldn't be afraid of as it's from a natural whole food, and very different from the kind of saturated fat that you would find in a portion of chips from the local chippy (I'll go into how in another blog another time).
To top it all off - for the ladies, avocados contain Lutein which is an antioxidant which keeps your eyes and skin healthy so you may save yourself some money on placebo 'anti-aging/anti-wrinkle' creams! ;-)
Last but not least, avocados will keep you filled up for longer so that you don't get as many hunger-pangs thus tempted to reach for a chocolate bar or any other sugary pick-me-up. They also have next to zero effect on blood sugar levels. So there you have it, avocados truly are a super-food!
Reference: "The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth", Author: Jonny Bowden