Everyone loves a popular restaurant dish including this fruit.
But you may fear you’re cheating on your health when you order this dish. After all, it’s loaded with fat.
Fear no more, because according a to a study, published in the Journal of American Heart Association, this dish will lower your cholesterol and high blood pressure as well as boosting your heart health and clearing out clogged arteries.
Love guacamole?
Avocado, the amazing fruit used in this tasty dip, benefits your heart as much as it pleases your taste buds.
Avocadoes have long been known to be a good source of healthy fats, but people sometimes forget the “good” part and shy away from it because of the high calories and a fear of weight gain.
Since avocadoes are also very low in sodium (and high in potassium) compared to many other fruits, it makes it an even better option for lowering blood pressure.
Here are just a few of the nutrients found in avocados:
• Vitamin B5, B6, B9, C, D, E, K (As you can see this covers a good spectrum of the available vitamins)
• Lutein – an antioxidant chemical that protects the eyes from UV rays and improves night vision
• Potassium – the mineral that lowers blood pressure, improves blood flow and counteracts sodium intake.
• Fiber
• Healthy, monounsaturated fats
It is not easy to convince some people that the healthy fats that avocadoes provide can actually help the heart. But you’ll be surprised, it’s not just Avocado fat that’s good for you.
Now let’s look at the study:
45 volunteers who had high cholesterol and were moderately overweight to obese participated in the study.
They were randomly divided into three groups and given three different diets:
• Low fat diet with only 24% of calories coming from fats
• Moderate fat diet with 34% of calories from fat (includes one fresh avocado per day)
• Moderate fat diet with 34% of calories from fat (supplement with high oleic acid oils to match those found in avocadoes, olives)
Now the goal is of course to raise HDL (good cholesterol) and lower LDL (bad cholesterol).
Surprise! The low fat diet had the LEAST benefits, and actually showed a decrease in good (HDL) cholesterol – about 4.g/DL after 5 weeks.
The moderate fat diet without fresh avocadoes lowered, LDL (bad) cholesterol by an average 8.3 mg/DL.
The moderate fat diet with avocadoes lowered LDL (bad) cholesterol by whopping 13.5 mg/DL.
Unfortunately, none of those diets raised HDL (good) cholesterol. For that you need moderate exercise and other important health strategies.
In fact, to get your cholesterol under control, and more importantly remove plaque buildup from your heart’s arteries, it’s very important to apply a solid strategy.
It doesn’t mean it’s going to take a lot of effort or that you’ll have to give up everything you love. To the contrary; like the study above shows, adding most types of fat (you love) to your diet helps lower cholesterol. But you must do this with a strategy.
Where did the evidence against cholesterol come from? Study after study has shown that whilst lowering LDL cholesterol can help prevent a heart attack caused by blockage it makes you 6 x more like
Y to have an aneurism. Why? LDL cholesterol repairs damage to blood vessels and so increases significantly when under stress. HDL then takes away the excess and leaves the artery wall smooth. However, you can clear your arteries in 15 to 30 days using Serrapeptasse thereby reducing the risk of heart attack without raising your risk of aneurism.
To raise HDL you need exercise, Revesterol and green leafy veggies and to keep LDL in good shape you lower your stress. Remember, lowering LDL artificially means taking away the one thing that is protecting you when stressed. Bit like putting the brakes on when going into a skid. As with all things, tackle the root cause (stress) not the symptom or you will be raising your risk. There are some great articles and books about this out there including stuff by Dr Al Sears and others like the Cholesterol Con etc. Stay healthy.
Many foods such as avacodoes and almonds are very healthy in many ways; however, they are high in omega 6. I am 81 and don’t have either a blood pressure or cholesterol problem but if I eat a piece of avacodo my wrists begin to hurt even though I don’t have arthritis either. In addition I take a significant amount of Omega 3 oils. How else do I compensate for this problem.