Get Fit Friday Memo: Avocados

Holy guacamole! Avocados are a superfood! J Superfoods are foods that are extremely healthy and contain a large variety of vitamins, minerals and health boosting elements. These are the foods that when eaten can lower your risk of developing certain chronic diseases. At the forefront of the list of superfoods is avocados. This food contains antioxidant rich vitamins, heart healthy fats and disease fighting fiber. Avocados have more fat than virtually any other fruit, which is why a lot of people shy away from eating them. But all that fat is the incredibly good-for-you, monounsaturated kind that has the power to protect your heart from disease! And then there's the fiber content—avocados have a higher fiber content than any other fruit out there with 30 percent of your daily recommended amount in a single cup. So, eating avocados will not only protect your heart but lower your cholesterol, too! Here are some other benefits from eating avocados:

Avocados have been shown to inhibit the growth of prostate cancer.
Research has shown that certain compounds in avocados are able to seek out pre-cancerous and cancerous oral cancer cells and destroy them without harming healthy cells.
Avocado, like olive oil, is high in oleic acid, which has been shown to prevent breast cancer in numerous studies.
Avocados have more of the carotenoid lutein than any other commonly consumed fruit. Lutein protects against macular degeneration and cataracts, two disabling age-related eye diseases.
Avocados are high in beta-sitosterol, a compound that has been shown to lower cholesterol levels. In one study, 45 volunteers experienced an average drop in cholesterol of 17% after eating avocados for only one week.
One cup of avocado has 23% of the recommended daily value of folate. Studies show that people who eat diets rich in folate have a much lower incidence of heart disease than those who don't.
The high levels of folate in avocado are also protective against strokes. People who eat diets rich in folate have a much lower risk of stroke than those who don't.
Avocados are an excellent source of glutathione, an important antioxidant that researchers say is important in preventing aging, cancer, and heart disease.
Avocados are the best fruit source of vitamin E, an essential vitamin that protects against many diseases and helps maintains overall health.

I personally LOVE avocados! I eat them in a lot of different things. I put them on my sandwiches instead of mayonnaise. I add them to salad and wraps. And I make a pretty mean guacamole using Greek yogurt instead of sour cream! Here are some pics of ways you can add this superfood into your everyday menu!