ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – You've heard the old saying "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" but how about an avocado a day? Research shows that the "good fat" absorbed from eating avocado can help lower your bad cholesterol and increase your heart health.
Whether you like them or hate them, research shows that eating a whole avocado a day can actually decrease bad cholesterol by thirteen points!
Erica Hechler, RD, from Florida Hospital, says avocados are a great source of unsaturated fat, the good fat found in plants.
"Unsaturated fats are good for cholesterol, they help with HDL, which is your good cholesterol," Hechler told Ivanhoe.
Not sure how to incorporate avocado into your diet? Try this: instead of mayonnaise, blend an avocado for a homemade spread for sandwiches and wraps, or in place of cheese, slice it into salads and soups.
They are about 300 calories and 30 grams of fat per fruit.
They still do need to be controlled, because they are a significant source of concentrated calories," Hechler told Ivanhoe.
Hechler recommends using other sources of dietary fat sparingly.
"If we're not removing things like butter, bacon and sour cream from our diet and we're just adding more avocado, more fat, we're adding more calories," Hechler told Ivanhoe.
If you don't like avocado that's okay! Nutritionists say there are other ways to get the same nutrients. Incorporate more nuts, olives, canola and olive oil into your diet to receive the same heart healthy, cholesterol lowering benefits.
By the way, while you might be tempted to call the avocado a vegetable, it is classified as a fruit.