How to correctly view the "evaluation polarization" of avocados?

There is an article circulating in the circle of friends, the title is very frightening: "25-year-old woman suddenly had a cerebral infarction late at night, and the rescue of the second half of the body was unsuccessful Doctor: How can you prefer this fruit?" 》。 What fruit is so "poisonous"? Open the article to see, the original said avocado. The doctor has enough words to make people unconscious. I don't know if such a doctor really exists, but he is completely talking nonsense. Such a statement is not uncommon on social media, such as another article claiming that "long-term eating of avocado by patients with hyperlipidemia will cause blood lipids to thicken, which is extremely easy to form blood clots and induce cerebral infarction." ”

As a popular fruit that has been popular in the fat reduction circle and fitness circle for many years, one moment said that avocados can "beautify and nourish the face" and "care for the liver", and the next time said "cause blood lipids to thicken, form blood clots, and induce cerebral infarction".

What kind of fruit is avocado?

Avocados are much higher in calories than in general fruits

However, the proportion of dietary fiber content is also very high

Avocados are also called "avocados". Although we also call it "fruit", its characteristics are very different from other fruits.

Usually, fruits are hydrated, high in sugar, low in fat, and low in protein. The water content of avocados is only more than 70%, while the usual fruits such as apples, pears, citrus, grapes, etc., are above 85%, and watermelons are likely to be as high as 93%. Coupled with the very high fat content of the "non-aqueous components" in avocados, it tastes very different from other fruits and is much higher in calories.

Compared with the average fruit containing 120 kilojoules of calories per 100 grams, the 670 kJ/100 grams of avocados is indeed much higher. Interestingly, the carbohydrates in avocados are mainly dietary fiber, with sugar content of less than 1%, while dietary fiber content is as high as 6.7% – considering the water content of more than 70%, the content of this dietary fiber is extremely rare in various foods.

In addition, its 2% protein content is very high in various types of fruits, but it is not much compared to other types of food.

Although the fat content is high and the proportion of oil is large

But it belongs to the "unsaturated fatty acids" that are beneficial to the human body.

Avocados are indeed very fat, accounting for 55% (14.66 grams) of the 26.8 grams of non-aqueous nutrients, and most of them are oil when bitten down. The claim that "eating avocados leads to cerebral infarction" is derived from "high fat". In fact, the so-called "high-fat diet increases blood lipids" refers to trans fats and saturated fats and "excessive total fat intake".

Based on the current scientific evidence, the nutritional recommendation on fat intake is: under the premise of controlling total fat intake, replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat is conducive to reducing blood lipids and cholesterol.

Although the fat content of avocado is high, it is mainly unsaturated fat, with only 14.5% saturated fatty acids, while monounsaturated fatty acids are as high as 67%, and there are also 12% polyunsaturated fatty acids. This fatty acid composition is quite similar to olive oil and camellia oil, which are considered "healthy cooking oils." In other words, replacing animal oils, palm oil, coconut oil, and cream, which are high in saturated fat, is actually good for health. As for the article that avocados "contain a lot of cholesterol", it is complete nonsense - all vegetable oils do not contain cholesterol, and the current scientific consensus is that the health effects of cholesterol in food are not worrying.

Avocados are more suitable as an embellishment in meals

Rather than eating in large quantities directly

In addition to the dietary fiber in avocados is amazing, the content of Vc, Ve and B vitamins is also considerable. In addition, it is rich in "plant-stimulating metabolites," such as various polyphenol compounds — which is why it is believed to have a variety of health benefits.

Of course, avocado is a high-fat, high-calorie food after all, and its own flavor and taste are also very general, and it cannot be eaten directly in large quantities like other fruits. Usually, it is used as part of the ingredient pairing for various salads or snacks, and even if you "like it", the amount of food is not very large. Because of its nutritional composition, it is only a beautiful idea to say that it can "lower blood lipids" and "antioxidants"; similarly, because of its "high fat", it is said that it will "cause blood viscosity, intravascular fat accumulation, the formation of thrombus, and induce cerebral infarction", which is also nonsense.

Text/Yun Wuxin (Ph.D. in Food Engineering)

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