What's the big deal with avocado?

Showmm
Showmm Posts: 406 Member
edited January 11 in Food and Nutrition
Sure, it's full of "good fats" but it's still full of fat and calories. Not sure why it's always touted as a healthy food.
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Replies

  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    Dietary fat =/= body fat. You NEED dietary fats. The best sources of omega 3's are fish oil and flax. You don't need to eat carbs or sugar, you don't need meat, you don't need dairy, but the two absolutely essential things to have in your diet are omega 3's and protein. You can have those other things of course, but they're not necessary to life.
  • kellyscomeback
    kellyscomeback Posts: 1,369 Member
    Not all fats are created equal. Read up on the different types of fats and why you do and don't need them.
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    Besides...they taste good and are versatile.
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
    How do you define healthy?

    Is your definition of "healthy" strictly based on caloric content?

    If so, then celery would be a better choice. There's also taste to consider, personally I enjoy avacdo more than celery.
  • Showmm
    Showmm Posts: 406 Member
    Personally, I'd rather have a big cup of blueberries for a snack than half an avocado, for half the calories and none of the fat.

    I understand it's better than eating straight lard, I just don't see the great value in it when added up against other foods.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    Dietary fat =/= body fat. You NEED dietary fats. The best sources of omega 3's are fish oil and flax. You don't need to eat carbs or sugar, you don't need meat, you don't need dairy, but the two absolutely essential things to have in your diet are omega 3's and protein. You can have those other things of course, but they're not necessary to life.

    Yes. People have a hard time getting beyond the 1980s-1990s mindset that fat free = good. Fats can be healthy (avocados, nuts, salmon) and fats can be unhealthy (trans fats from packaged foods). Do a little reading on it, as it is information worth knowing.

    Also, avocados are freaking delicious.
  • courtneybrooke27
    courtneybrooke27 Posts: 97 Member
    Dietary fat =/= body fat. You NEED dietary fats. The best sources of omega 3's are fish oil and flax. You don't need to eat carbs or sugar, you don't need meat, you don't need dairy, but the two absolutely essential things to have in your diet are omega 3's and protein. You can have those other things of course, but they're not necessary to life.

    Yes. People have a hard time getting beyond the 1980s-1990s mindset that fat free = good. Fats can be healthy (avocados, nuts, salmon) and fats can be unhealthy (trans fats from packaged foods). Do a little reading on it, as it is information worth knowing.

    Also, avocados are freaking delicious.

    Well said! My trainer told me that it's very important to get 3 servings of the "good" fats in each day.. half an avacado, approx 20 almonds, EVOO... I followed his advice and he helped me lose my first 20lbs before joining MFP. You can eat delicious and very healthy things that are nutritional in other ways than just having low-calorie and low-fat content :) My favourite recipe with half an avacado is spreading it over a Sundried Tomato Basil rice cake just before I hit the gym... DELICIOUS!
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,307 Member
    Personally, I'd rather have a big cup of blueberries for a snack than half an avocado, for half the calories and none of the fat.

    I understand it's better than eating straight lard, I just don't see the great value in it when added up against other foods.
    If you believe calories are a bad thing then yes blueberries are better. Nutrition unfortunately doesn't work that way and a person can have bluberries and avocado and lose weight, crazy but true. j/k :smile:
  • stephdeeable
    stephdeeable Posts: 1,407 Member
    It's also delicious.
  • I don't know what the deal is but all I know is that I'm an avocado addict. If I can choose 1 food to eat for the rest of my life, it would be avocado hands down. So so delicious, especially with sirachi sauce drizzled over it.
  • Feisty_Red
    Feisty_Red Posts: 982 Member
    eat all the guacamole!
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    Just started to eat some half avocados...very nice flavor.

    Not to hijack thread but store the uneaten portions in a container of diced onions and they won't spoil for many days.
  • The fats are necessary, they help keep the nerve endings firing as the fats are conductors. Your skin needs fat your organs do too. The fat is also slower to digest so you are satisfied longer. Holy guacamole!!
  • myukniewicz
    myukniewicz Posts: 906 Member
    Dietary fat =/= body fat. You NEED dietary fats. The best sources of omega 3's are fish oil and flax. You don't need to eat carbs or sugar, you don't need meat, you don't need dairy, but the two absolutely essential things to have in your diet are omega 3's and protein. You can have those other things of course, but they're not necessary to life.

    Yes. People have a hard time getting beyond the 1980s-1990s mindset that fat free = good. Fats can be healthy (avocados, nuts, salmon) and fats can be unhealthy (trans fats from packaged foods). Do a little reading on it, as it is information worth knowing.

    Also, avocados are freaking delicious.

    Agree 100%
  • Showmm
    Showmm Posts: 406 Member
    I don't believe calories are a bad thing, but I do believe I need to limit them by a certain amount if I want to lose weight.

    And you know why they are so delicious? Because they are full of fat. Seriously.

    Hey, I think they are ok too, when I can decent ones. There's just so much I would choose before avocado to make up my daily food allowance.
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
    Sure, it's full of "good fats" but it's still full of fat and calories. Not sure why it's always touted as a healthy food.

    You stay fuller longer with the more fat you eat, which equates into eating less and getting the most bang for your buck with nutrient dense food.

    I try to eat upwards of 70% fat per day, and the rest is protein and then carbs (from fruits and vegetables) fill in the remainder.

    I have started eating a lot of avocados and coconut. YUM to both.
  • nikkohli
    nikkohli Posts: 311 Member
    Just started to eat some half avocados...very nice flavor.

    Not to hijack thread but store the uneaten portions in a container of diced onions and they won't spoil for many days.

    Does it add onion taste? I wouldn't mind that necessarily....just curious. My "avocado saver" doesn't work and neither does storing it with the pit and some lemon. I just suffer through eating a whole avocado in a day :wink:
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    The fats are necessary, they help keep the nerve endings firing as the fats are conductors. Your skin needs fat your organs do too. The fat is also slower to digest so you are satisfied longer. Holy guacamole!!

    this should be on the "what do fats do" or "why are fats necessary" thread I saw earlier today and posted some uninformed nonsensical gibberish on. someone find it and put this smart stuff there.
    My "avocado saver" doesn't work and neither does storing it with the pit and some lemon. I just suffer through eating a whole avocado in a day
    not my definition of suffering...at all! Here are some ideas. put half on a sandwich and the other half on a salad later as a snack or meal. make guacamole with it and you will have no problem finding someone to share the other half with you.
    eat half out of the skin with a spoon with salt and pepper and the other half mush it with some mayonnaise and save it for when you can afford that many calories later or tomorrow. OR what I would do, eat it all at once and just adjust the rest of my meal's calories down. My friend and I survived college on avocados from her parent's tree and flour tortillas we'd pitch in for at the market. it was lunch most days just that with salt and pepper and we were both thin and healthy cause we also scoped out any food providing events for dinner from racial to radical meetings to sorority recruitings to academic club invites to really just about anything as long as there was food. it sucks, i know but at least neither of us had to swing around a pole to "pay my way through college". Breakfast was usually starbucks with a muffin top for her and the muffin bottom for me with butter. College was hard.
  • kbeech06
    kbeech06 Posts: 328 Member
    Damn, now I want guacamole! :tongue:
  • thedescentofhope
    thedescentofhope Posts: 118 Member
    Just started to eat some half avocados...very nice flavor.

    Not to hijack thread but store the uneaten portions in a container of diced onions and they won't spoil for many days.

    You should never ever under ANY circumstances pre chop onions!! EVER!
  • TheMoonMuse
    TheMoonMuse Posts: 40 Member
    Just started to eat some half avocados...very nice flavor.

    Not to hijack thread but store the uneaten portions in a container of diced onions and they won't spoil for many days.

    Does it add onion taste? I wouldn't mind that necessarily....just curious. My "avocado saver" doesn't work and neither does storing it with the pit and some lemon. I just suffer through eating a whole avocado in a day :wink:

    Try storing the uneaten half in a sealed container with the pit still in it. Sometimes they still get a little discolored but nothing that will turn me away :)

    ***Edited to say, never mind, you tried the pit :) I need to finish my coffee before I write anymore :)
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    I don't believe calories are a bad thing, but I do believe I need to limit them by a certain amount if I want to lose weight.

    And you know why they are so delicious? Because they are full of fat. Seriously.

    Hey, I think they are ok too, when I can decent ones. There's just so much I would choose before avocado to make up my daily food allowance.

    Yes, fat tastes good and is satiating. This is why some healthy fat in a snack will keep you longer than something like crackers. However, if you are eating very low calorie, like 1200 a day, I can see how there would be no room for avocados.
  • cnlargent
    cnlargent Posts: 199 Member
    I eat avocados because they are delicious, and I am willing to have higher calories overall in order to get the nutritonal benefits. Often if I'm having a sandwich, I will mash avocado and use it in place of a condiment. And they are delicious, did I mention that?
  • Shadowknight137
    Shadowknight137 Posts: 1,243 Member
    It tastes awesome. It's a good fat source.

    And it tastes awesome. Have you ever TRIED chocolate avocado mousse with a flake bar crushed into it? If not... Do so.
  • DaBossLady24
    DaBossLady24 Posts: 556 Member
    Dietary fat =/= body fat. You NEED dietary fats. The best sources of omega 3's are fish oil and flax. You don't need to eat carbs or sugar, you don't need meat, you don't need dairy, but the two absolutely essential things to have in your diet are omega 3's and protein. You can have those other things of course, but they're not necessary to life.

    Yes. People have a hard time getting beyond the 1980s-1990s mindset that fat free = good. Fats can be healthy (avocados, nuts, salmon) and fats can be unhealthy (trans fats from packaged foods). Do a little reading on it, as it is information worth knowing.

    Also, avocados are freaking delicious.

    Couldn't have said this better.

    Hence the addition of flaxseed, chia seeds, nuts, avocados and all types of other healthy fats in my diet now! :bigsmile:
  • auroranflash
    auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member
    Just started to eat some half avocados...very nice flavor.

    Not to hijack thread but store the uneaten portions in a container of diced onions and they won't spoil for many days.

    You should never ever under ANY circumstances pre chop onions!! EVER!

    why? o_O
  • TeachTheGirl
    TeachTheGirl Posts: 2,091 Member
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  • Pixi_Rex
    Pixi_Rex Posts: 1,676 Member
    Because its delicious
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Avocado is just one natural unprocessed way to get healthy fat. It is high in calories, but your body needs some fat and fat has more calories than carbs or protein. It's nothing magical.
  • Nessiechickie
    Nessiechickie Posts: 1,392 Member
    I love avocados.
    I love the creaminess.
    But I eat them not so much for the "good" fats but because I struggle to get enough calories in and this helps.
This discussion has been closed.