When you bite into an avocado, a plethora of good things start happening in your body, which is exactly why it’s called a superfruit.
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According to The List, eating avocados on a regular basis helps battle against aging because of the fruit’s monounsaturated fat and essential fatty acids. It also aids in maintaining a sense of fullness after eating, helps you sleep more soundly, eases fatigue, helps maintain good brain function, provides relief to sore muscles, helps reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack, builds strong nails and hair growth, aids in reproductive issues in both women and men and, due to the lutein it provides, promotes healthy vision. And, while there are no claims that it cures cancer, it is known to have potentially preventative abilities when it comes to certain kinds of cancers.
Avocados help with weight management and blood sugar control, and can help reduce your risk of obesity and diabetes, because you feel full longer. They are loaded with fiber and are high in amounts of several essential vitamins and minerals, including the B vitamins, potassium and vitamins.
The reason avocados have a positive effect on reducing insulin resistance and your risk of diabetes is due to a unique fat molecule the fruit contains called avocatin B.
Avocados are now one of the most popular fruits in the U.S., but, there is a downside. Each avocado requires about 18.5 gallons of water to produce, which means the fruits can be environmentally destructive.
In drought-prone Petorca province in Chile, avocado plantations have diverted and stolen water, causing streams to run dry and cause harm to local populations. Water conservation activists who have been vocal in opposing the water theft often receive threats and very little government support.
it hasn’t always been that way. Here’s a bit of history: During the 1920s — and as late as the 1970s — avocados were thought of more as a luxury item or delicacy than an everyday food.
The avocados of the early 20th century were called "alligator pears," due to their green bumpy skin, which did little to entice eaters.
In the late 1920s, the California Avocado Growers' Exchange rallied to remove the word "alligator" from the avocado lexicon, and as a result the public began calling them avocados instead.
Ironically, although avocado sounded better than alligator pear to most people, avocado is the Aztec word — "ahuacacuahatl" — for the testicle tree, which sounds even less enticing than alligator pear.
Because of their limited growing climate, avocados were an expensive fruit, selling at $1 each in 1974 —which would be the equivalent of about $5 today. At that time, they were marketed as a gourmet food or a delicacy, not something for everyday meals.
The nourishing fruit got another bad rap in the 1980s when public health organizations began to push low-fat diets and warned against eating avocados, which have a high level of fats, but actually are good-for-you, healthy fats.
Avocado growers soon fought back against the low-fat movement and funded research studies to prove that the fat in avocados was healthy one that helped people absorb more nutrients into their bodies. They also launched TV ads showing fit celebrities eating avocados and hosted a Guacamole Bowl in the ‘90s during the Super Bowl, which propelled the fruit to an elevated health status.
So, now that you know both sides of the avocado’s story, when purchasing avocados, try to buy — and eat — responsibly. Check where your avocados are coming from and seek sources that are producing the fruit responsibly. And, once you get them home, be sure to eat them so they don’t go to waste!