If you are like me, you are not satisfied by just eating a random fruit to feel satiated. This means when eating a fruit, you want to know, what’s in it for you! This helps in making informed dietary choices. And it also helps you to know the nutrients that you have at your disposal. I have come to realise that avocado have a high nutritional value. Avocados are a healthy fruit, and many people have no idea about the nutrients avocados can add to their diet. So, I have decided to give them an answer to the question; what nutrients are in avocados?
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What nutrients are in avocados?
Avocados are one of the healthiest and most nutrient-rich fruits. Studies show that avocados contain 20 different vitamins and minerals. This makes it one of the best fruits to fight micronutrient deficiencies and hidden hunger.
Each full avocado, weighing 136 g for Hass avocados, has a nutrient and phytochemical profile that is similar to 42.5 g of tree nuts! The tree nuts; almonds, pistachios and walnuts are some of the healthiest seeds in the world. I hope reading this blog will help you know the nutrients you get from eating avocados.
So, what do you get for eating avocados?
Avocados are nutrient-rich and many studies have provided proof on this topic. Eating avocados in a healthy diet will give you access to nutrients. And it will also give you access to several health-promoting compounds. These health-promoting compounds are essential for good health.
Knowing what nutrients are in avocado will help you plan and enjoy health promoting meals.
People who eat avocados regularly tend to eat more of the key shortfall nutrients than those who do not. Shortfall nutrients are those nutrients many people do not eat enough of. These nutrients include dietary fibre, vitamins K and E, potassium and magnesium. Many people suffer from hidden hunger or micronutrient deficiencies because they do not have enough micronutrients in their diet.
Avocados are a good source of many vitamins and minerals. And making it part of your healthy diet can help you fight hidden hunger.
What nutrients are in avocados?: A list of common avocado nutrients
Eating avocados regularly in a healthy diet will give you access to these nutrients:
- Dietary fibre
- Low total sugar
- Rich in potassium
- Low in sodium
- Good source of magnesium
- Vitamin A
- Antioxidant vitamins C and E
- Vitamin K
- Folate
- Pyridoxine
- Pantothenic acid
- Niacin
- Riboflavin
- Other minerals like zinc, iron, manganese and copper.
- The protein content is higher than other fruits.
- Healthy polyunsaturated fatty acids
- Healthy monounsaturated fatty acids
- Low quantities of saturated fatty acids
When talking about what nutrients are in avocados, let’s not forget the health-promoting compounds:
- Choline
- Carotenoids
- Lutein
- Zeaxanthin
- Cryptoxanthin
- Low cholesterol
- Glutathione
Explaining the nutritional value of an avocado
What nutrients are in avocados? This is a very good question. Above I listed the most important nutrients in avocado fruits. Here are some explanations of the nutritional value of avocados.
1. Dietary fat; what nutrients are in avocados?
The main nutrient in avocados is fat, which comes after water of cause. The oil content of the fruit improves with ripening. This means that unripe avocados have a lower oil content than ripe ones.
The predominant fatty acids in avocados are the healthful monounsaturated fatty acids. Oleic acid is is the most abundant
monounsaturated fatty acid in avocados. Some of the principal health benefits of avocados are attributed to these monounsaturated fatty acids.
Avocados also contain polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids. However, the saturated fatty acid content is very low, so you don’t have to worry about those saturated fat myths.
Oleic acid is the most abundant fatty acid in avocados. It is a monounsaturated fatty acid making it a healthy fat. Oleic acid forms an emulsion with water. As a result, this emulsion helps you to absorb fat-soluble nutrients from your healthy diet. These include carotenoids and fat-soluble vitamins.
This is why it’s good for you to know what nutrients are in avocados.
2. Energy source and protein content
Avocados have a high-fat content than most fruits. And about 90% of the energy in avocadoes comes from fats. Also, most of the fats in avocados are healthy monounsaturated fats. Saturated fats are also available in smaller quantities. This means if you overeat avocados you will get extra calories. In simple words, avocados can get you fat if you overeat or abuse them! The edible parts of avocado have a 15% fat content.
A 100 g of avocados can give you about 160 calories of energy. That may be too much for someone who is watching their calories. It
is recommended that you eat avocados moderately as part of a healthy diet.
Avocados have 2% protein content per 100 g. This protein content is higher than most other fruits. So, avocados can add a little bit of protein to your healthy diet.
Carbohydrates in avocados have a very insignificant contribution to your calorie intake. This is because avocados have a very low glycemic load. This is due to their low level of available carbohydrates. Therefore, eating avocados have a very low impact on your blood glucose levels.
3. Vitamin content of avocados
Avocados are like a treasure chest of both fat-soluble, antioxidant and B group vitamins. I believe that avocados are an important source of antioxidant vitamins. These vitamins are important in protecting us from free radical and oxidative damage. These are some of the most important nutrients in avocados.
The UV radiation from the sun damages our skin. Also, pesticides and herbicide residues in food damage our tissues as well as organs. Our medicine and pharmaceuticals also have many oxidative and damaging effects. However, antioxidant vitamins vitamin E and C can help protect us from this oxidative onslaught.
Making avocados part of your healthy diet goes a long way toward providing adequate vitamins. A 100 g of avocados will give you:
- 26% of your daily needs for vitamin K
- 20% for folate
- 17% for vitamin C
- 14% for vitamin B5
- 13% for vitamin B6
- 10% for vitamin E
- And small quantities of vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin.
If you have ever wondered, “what nutrients are in avocados”, knowledge about these vitamins may be useful to you.
4. Low sugar more fibre
Most people have started to mind their sugar intake. I would call it a sugar-free revolution if people would succeed in fighting off sugar
intake. Well, if sugar intake is one of your worries then avocados are good for you. The main sugars in avocados are D-mannoheptulose and perseitol. And you cannot absorb or digest these in your intestines. So, you don’t have to worry about them. This makes avocados a low sugar food since the majority of the carbohydrate are in the form of dietary fibre.
Dietary fibre makes up about 7% of the edible portion of carbohydrates. Foods with a good fibre content like avocados are good for your gut health. Avocados contain both soluble and insoluble fibre.
5. Minerals that are in avocados
Avocados can provide you with good quantities of potassium. The potassium in avocados gives you about 14% of your daily needs per 100 g. They also contain smaller quantities of other minerals including magnesium, manganese, zinc, copper, iron and phosphorus. In addition, they have very
low sodium quantities.
A review on Hass avocados shows that avocado consumers usually eat more of the minerals magnesium and potassium.
Too much dietary sodium is troublesome mineral in terms of your blood pressure and heart health. Foods high in potassium and low in sodium like avocados are good for your heart health.
You can find all these nutrients in avocados. I hope this helps in answering your question on what nutrients are in your avocados.
6. Antioxidants in avocados
Avocados contain several antioxidant compounds. We start with the antioxidant vitamins, vitamin C and E.
Vitamin E is very good for protecting your body cells from the damage of oxidation, radiation and inflammation.
Carotenoids like lutein, cryptoxanthin and zeaxanthin also have powerful antioxidant properties. Zeaxanthin and lutein protect your eyes from blue light damage.
Glutathione is a protein that makes part of your body’s antioxidant defence mechanism. Whilst proteins are digested in our gut, intake of glutathione is associated with healthy antioxidant defence. And avocados have a glutathione content several folds higher than many other foods.
7. Choline and water
Choline is a very important compound in your nervous response. So, eating foods with choline like avocados can help keep your nervous system healthy.
The majority of the edible portion of avocados is an oil and water matrix. Avocados can be a good way to get water from your diet.
Also read:
- Avocado health benefits: Why you need them everyday
- Nutritional value of an avocado
- Health benefits of avocados: Eating them in a healthy diet
- Eat avocados for healthy ageing: 11 Reasons why
Conclusion on what nutrients are in avocados
What nutrients are in avocados? This was the question and I hope I provided the answer.I believe avocados to be superfoods or rather a super fruits. That is if such things exist. They are almost the perfect fruit to fight against malnutrition. Studies show that those who eat avocados regularly usually consume more fibre, monounsaturated fatty acids, vitamin E, vitamin C, folate, magnesium and potassium. However, no food is perfect, so eating avocados alone will not get you all the nutrients you need in adequate quantities. That’s why you need avocados as part of a healthy diet.