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Guess Which Fruit ‘Significantly’ Lowers Cholesterol

Summary by Dr. Joseph Mercola

There’s a fairly inexpensive fruit in just about every produce market that not only is full of vitamins, minerals and fiber, but also “significantly” lowers total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL) and blood triglycerides. It’s also powerful in antioxidants and it even contains more potassium than bananas — which is another heart-healthy feature. If you can’t guess what that fruit is, then micetimes.asia is announcing it: It’s an avocado — and its list of health-boosting properties seems almost endless.

Although some folks mistakenly believe avocado is a vegetable, the important thing to note is that avocados are a good choice for a healthy diet. You can eat them raw, sliced over salads or mashed into a dip with seasonings for fresh veggies. Both children and adults can enjoy them year-round — and even better news, avocado is one of the few fruits that will provide you with “good” fats.

To that end, several studies have shown that avocados not only enhance your body’s ability to take up the benefits of carotenoids, due primarily to the lipids in them, but have bioactive action properties that may aid in fighting cancer.

If you don't get any other concept about how avocados can literally change your health, this might move you: The high fat content in avocados is a good thing — it's not "bad" fat. In fact, it's a good, necessary fat from oleic acid, which is the same monosaturated fatty acid contained in olive oil.

Oleic acid is associated with decreased inflammation, which helps stave off chronic diseases. But, if you’ve been diagnosed with heart disease or metabolic syndrome — or both — avocados are a literal superfood that can affectively combat nearly every aspect of metabolic syndrome. When it comes to protecting your heart, avocados simply can’t be beat as a heart-healthy food that will optimize your cholesterol levels.

Further, neither avocados nor avocado oil are hydrogenated or loaded with trans fats or other unhealthy oxidized fats like most canola, safflower, corn or other vegetable oils you're urged to cook with may be. Avocado oil can even be drizzled over salads and used in recipes calling for other oils.

One of the most interesting things about avocados is that people who eat more of them generally weigh less and have smaller waistlines than people who don't, even if their overall caloric consumption is smaller. And if that’s not a reason for eating them, I don’t know what is.

All these factors are what help make avocados an incredibly healthy food to add to your diet. But before you go, here’s another fun fact: Avocado pits can be good for you too!