vocado | What is Avocado Fruit | Avocado Fruit Juice | Uses of Avocado Fruit | Health Benefits of Avocado Fruit and its Juice | Nutritional and Calorific Value of each Avocado
The word 'avocado' comes from the Nahuatl word ahuacatl ('testicle', a reference to the shape of the fruit).
The avocado (Persea americana), aguacate (Spanish), butter pear or alligator pear, is a tree native to the Caribbean, Mexico, South America and Central America, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel. The name "avocado" also refers to the fruit (technically a large berry that contains a large seed) of the tree which may be egg-shaped or spherical.
Avocados are a commercially valuable fruit and are cultivated in tropical climates throughout the world (and some temperate ones, such as California), producing a green-skinned, pear-shaped fruit that ripens after harvesting. Trees are partially self-pollinating and often are propagated through grafting to maintain a predictable quality and quantity of the fruit.
P. americana, or the avocado, has a long history of cultivation in Central and South America; a water jar shaped like an avocado, dating to A.D. 900, was discovered in the pre-Incan city of Chan Chan The earliest known written account of the avocado in Europe is that of Martín Fernández de Enciso (c. 1470–c. 1528) in 1518 or 1519 in his book, Suma de Geografía que Trata de Todas las Partidas y Provincias del Mundo.
The first written record in English of the use of the word 'avocado' was by Hans Sloane in a 1696 index of Jamaican plants. The plant was introduced to Indonesia in 1750, Brazil in 1809, the Levant in 1908, and South Africa and Australia in the late 19th century.
Health Benefits of Avocado Fruit and its Juice:
* High avocado intake has been shown to have an effect on blood serum cholesterol levels.
* Specifically, after a seven-day diet rich in avocados, hypercholesterolemia patients showed a 17% decrease in total serum cholesterol levels. These subjects also showed a 22% decrease in both LDL (bad cholesterol) and triglyceride levels and 11% increase in HDL (good cholesterol) levels.
* Additionally a Japanese team synthesised the four chiral components and identified (2R, 4R)-16-heptadecene-1, 2, 4-triol as the natural antibacterial component.
* Even though, many people are speculative of the fat content in avocados, researchers suggest that the mono-unsaturated fats in avocado, especially, oleic acid, may lower cholesterol levels. Read more on avocado: calories in avocado.
* Being rich in potassium, avocados can provide you with the adequate amounts of this mineral, which regulates blood pressure. It can also contribute to prevent circulatory diseases, like, heart diseases, stroke, hypertension, etc.
* Avocados contain considerable amount of folate, which can lower the risk of heart diseases and stroke.
* According to some recent researches, the oleic acid in avocados is also beneficial in preventing breast cancer and prostate cancer.
* The nutritional value of avocados remains unchallenged when it comes to carotenoids. Studies show that carotenoids are absorbed better, in people, who consume avocado. As carotenoids need fat for its absorption in the bloodstream, avocados contain mono-unsaturated fats, which help the former to get absorbed.
Hence this fruit can be used in salads containing other vegetables, salads containing other vegetables, so that the carotenoids in all the ingredients are absorbed better by the body.
* Avocados contain carotenoid lutein in considerable amounts, and lutein is good to prevent eye problems, like, macular degeneration and cataract.
* Another avocado health benefit lies in glutathione, which is an antioxidant that is found to be beneficial in preventing aging.
* Preventing oral cancer is one of the avocado health benefits. This is due to the phytonutrients in this fruit, especially the Hass variety.
Uses of Avocado Fruits and Avocado Fruit Juice:
- The fruit is not sweet but fatty, distinctly yet subtly flavored, and of smooth, almost creamy texture.
- Avocado is popular in chicken dishes and as a spread on toast, served with salt and pepper.
- Avocado oil for hair is a well known use of avocado, as it is quite beneficial when used as a hair tonic.
- Most avocados grown in the United States and other countries are sold for human consumption in the form of fresh fruit or processed paste products. Also, many parts of it are used for various products including animal feeds and baby consumption.
Nutritional and Calorific Value of a Avocado Fruit:
Avocado, raw (edible parts) Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 670 kJ (160 kcal)
Carbohydrates 8.53 g
Sugars 0.66 g
Dietary fiber 6.7 g
Fat 14.66 g
saturated 2.13 g
monounsaturated 9.80 g
polyunsaturated 1.82 g
Protein 2 g
Thiamine (Vit. B1) 0.067 mg (5%)
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.130 mg (9%)
Niacin (Vit. B3) 1.738 mg (12%)
Pantothenic acid (B5) 1.389 mg (28%)
Vitamin B6 0.257 mg (20%)
Folate (Vit. B9) 81 μg (20%)
Vitamin C 10 mg (17%)
Calcium 12 mg (1%)
Iron 0.55 mg (4%)
Magnesium 29 mg (8% Phosphorus 52 mg (7%)
Potassium 485 mg (10%)
Zinc 0.64 mg (6%)
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