A healthy heart with avocado

Nothing wrong with avocado. Behind the delicious taste, contained a variety of nutrients. Unfortunately, there are still misconceptions that if avocados are not good for health. If you are a "hostile" avocado, it's time to change your mind. Avocado nutritional value equally with other fruit. It is good for your heart. Do not worry about the fat is present in it because the fat is mostly unsaturated fats that are good for health.

Avocados contain a very high fat, ie 71-88 percent of total calories or about 20 times the average for other fruits. Prof Dr Made Astawan MS, food technology and nutrition experts from the IPB to mention, there is at least 14.66 grams of fat per 100 grams of fruit avocado.

Fat is mostly in the form of monounsaturated fats (monounsaturated fatty acids). Levels reach 9.8 grams per 100 grams. Saturated fat content is only 2.13 grams per 100 grams. And also there are polyunsaturated fats of 1.82 grams per 100 grams.

Raise HDL
Avocados contain oleic acid, one of the components in monounsaturated fats can help lower cholesterol. A study carried out on their high cholesterol levels. After seven days of a diet that included avocados, they decreased total and LDL cholesterol significantly, while HDL cholesterol increased by 11 percent.

In addition to unsaturated fatty acids, avocado is also a good source of potassium or potassium, the mineral that helps regulate blood pressure. Potassium in avocados higher than a medium-sized banana. Adequate intake of potassium may help protect the body from blood vessel disease, such as high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.

High folate
Other nutrients found in avocados is folate. A cup of avocado has at least 23 percent of daily sufficiency for folate, a nutrient important for heart health and for women who are planning a pregnancy.

To determine the relationship between folate intake and heart disease, the researchers included more than 80,000 women for 14 years using dietary questionnaires. Found that women who consume higher dietary folate had 55 percent lower risk for heart disease or suffered a fatal heart disease.

Other studies show, anyone who ate folate-rich foods lower risk of cardiovascular disease or stroke compared with those not taking these important nutrients.

Avocados are also rich sources of vitamins A, C, E, K, vitamin B6, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, fiber, magnesium, and copper. With a series of nutrients contained in the avocado, it was pity to miss this fruit. You can put the avocado in a snack, salad and dessert. So, add an avocado in your diet every day.

Source : www.kompas.com