Avocados

Certainly famous for being a healthy food, maybe also slightly infamous as the classic “millennial food” as well, let’s look at the avocado and whether it is good for us.

Flavour and fabulous fat

Do you think of avocado as a fruit or a vegetable? Well, that was a trick question - because technically it is a berry. What?! Yup, they are part of the Lauraceae plant family, and is related to cinnamon.

Avocados are native to Central America, maybe not surprising to hear when you think of dishes that include this ingredient traditionally, but now they are grown in several places around the world.

One thing you may know about avocados already is that they are high in fat. And that is true! About 15% of an avocado is healthy fats, which is essential for energy in our bodies.

They contain quite a bit of potassium as well, which is a nutrient that a lot of us don’t get enough of. Potassium and magnesium, both found in avocados, can help regulate your blood pressure.

If you’ve ever been pregnant, you’ve probably heard people go on about folate, which you need a lot of when you’re carrying a baby and when you’re breastfeeding. Avocados are a great source of folate, so definitely add these to your diet during pregnancy! That being said, folate is great for non-pregnant people too, it can help brain function, decrease risk of type 2 diabetes and development of rheumatoid arthritis.

Avocados are high in fibre, which helps you feel fuller and is hugely important in helping your gut bacteria function correctly. Some research shows that avocados have helped increase bacterial diversity in participants, and we definitely want that for our digestive system!

So it’s all good news for your body basically. However, there is one big but here - they are not necessarily great for the environment. The reason for that is, avocado planting is resulting in deforestation in many of the areas where they grow a lot to keep up with the huge demand for avocados all around the world, and as they are part of mono-culture plantations, which can negatively impact the biodiversity in the nature around these plantations. Another issue with avocados, as I’m sure you’ve experienced at home if you buy them regularly, is that they can ripen way more than you’d like overnight - resulting in food waste!

There are two things you can do here to not impact the planet too much with your avocado consumption; 1. Have them in moderation. You don’t have to cut them out completely (in my opinion, you may disagree and that’s totally fine), and 2. Plan your avocado use well. They ripen much slower in the fridge, so make sure that you only take them out of the fridge in time to use the ones you need. Avocados can also be frozen! You can halve, peel, core them when they are at a nice, ripe level that you’d like (great thing to do if you have too many ripe ones to use right now) and keep them in a box or bag in the freezer.

Have you tried my 1-7 ingredient guacamole yet?

Do you like avocados? How do you use them? Message me on Instagram @TheFromScratchBody!