Avocados & Health
Posted
Fri, 06/13/03
This afternoon I received a query from someone named Sonja after she read my article about avocados. Apparently, Sonja loves avocados but every time she eats them she gets sick. She asked me if I knew whether avocados contained oil, or if she might be having an allergic reaction.
My name is Sonja and I have a question. Do avocados have some type of oil in them? The case being, every time I eat one I get an upset stomach and heave up. What would be in it to make me do that, can I be allergic to them?
According to
Peak of Health,
avocados contain half their weight in oil. I directed Sonja to their
web site, along with an article being displayed at Della Natura,
a site based in Australia (now defunct). There is also a
medical link between latex and avocado oil. I'm allergic to latex,
but avocados don't affect me.
The following is from my article Avocados:
Any way you slice it, the avocado is known to have high fat content but has nutritional benefits as well. The fruit is energy-rich with folate, antioxidants A, B6 and C. They are also rich with protein, vitamins E, B1, B2 and B3. Avocados have no salt, and are high in fiber. According to USDA guidelines (United States Department of Agriculture), one avocado contains:
324 calories
3.98g protein
14.8g carbohydrate
30.8g total fat
10g fiber
1,204mg potassium (60% more than bananas)
15.8mg Vitamin C
124mcg folate
1,230IU Vitamin A
In recent studies, it was discovered that lutein (a carotenoid) found in avocados helps to protect or prevent prostate cancer and eye diseases such as cataracts. In another experiment conducted by the University of Queensland (Australia), scientists concluded that an avocado-rich diet led to a 10-20% decrease in recurrent coronary attacks and a 4-8% decrease in death in patients with coronary heart disease if the diet was followed for at least five years.
Research at UCLA found that California avocados have almost twice as much Vitamin E as previously reported, leading other fruits such as kiwi, nectarines, grapes and peaches. Avocados also contain four times more "betasitosterol" than any other fruit, which aids in lowering blood cholesterol levels.
Sounds like a perfect fruit if you ask me, but I'll let you be the judge.
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