Avocados for the Body

Avocado: Botany
Production and Uses

Avocados: Good for the Body

Hello, Everyone!

Today, we are looking at the avocado and some of its benefits to the body, and therefore, the scalp's hair. The avocado tree (Persea americana) is native to Central Mexico, and is classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel. 'Avocado' or 'alligator pear' also refers to the fruit (botanically, a large drupe that contains a large seed) of the tree, which may be pear-shaped, egg-shaped or spherical.

Avocados are commercially valuable, and are cultivated in tropical and mediterranean climates throughout the world, producing a green-skinned, pear-shaped fruit that ripens after harvesting. Trees are partially self-pollinating and often are propagated through grafting to maintain a predictable quality and quantity of the fruit.

Culinary Uses
The avocado fruit of horticultural cultivars has a higher fat content than most other fruit, mostly monounsaturated fat, and, consequently, serves as an important staple in the diet of various groups where access to other fatty foods  such as high-fat meats and fish, dairy, etc. is limited.

When held in the palm of the hand and squeezed, a ripe avocado yields to gentle pressure. The flesh is prone to enzymatic browning which means it turns brown quickly after exposure to air. To prevent this, lime or lemon juice can be added to avocados after they are peeled.

Indonesian-style avocado
milkshake with chocolate
syrup

Avocado fruit is not sweet, but savory, yet subtly flavored with a smooth, almost creamy texture. However, It is used in savory dishes and sweet dishes, in many countries yet not for both. The avocado is very popular in vegetarian cuisine, as substitute for meats in sandwiches and salads because of its high fat content.


Generally, avocado is served raw, although some cultivars, including the common Hass, can be cooked for a short time without becoming bitter. Caution should be used when cooking with untested cultivars because the flesh of some avocados may be rendered inedible by heat. Prolonged cooking induces this chemical reaction in all cultivars. 

Around the globe avocado culinary use as a dessert is:

• It is used as the base for the Mexican dip known as guacamole, as well as a spread on corn tortillas or toast, served with spices.
• In the Philippines, Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam, and south India (especially the coastal Kerala and Karnataka region), avocados are frequently used for milkshakes and occasionally added to ice cream and other desserts.
• In Brazil, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia, a dessert drink is made with sugar, milk or water, and pureed avocado.  Chocolate syrup is sometimes added.
• In Ethiopia, avocados are made into juice by mixing them with sugar and milk or water, usually served with Vimto and a slice of lemon.  It is also very common to serve layered multiple fruit juices in a glass (locally called spreece) made of avocados, mangoes, bananas, guavas and papayas (that combination sounds quite delicious).  Avocados are also used to make salads.
• Avocados in savory dishes, often seen as exotic, are a relative novelty in Portuguese-speaking countries, such as Brazil, where the traditional preparation is mashed with sugar and lime, and eaten as a dessert or snack. This contrasts with Spanish speaking countries, such as Mexico or Argentina, where the opposite is true and sweet preparations are often unheard of.
• In Australia and New Zealand, it is commonly served in sandwiches, on toast, or with chicken.
• In Ghana, it is often eaten alone in sliced bread as a sandwich.
• In Sri Lanka, well ripened flesh, thoroughly mashed with sugar and milk, or treacle (a syrup made from the nectar of a particular palm flower) was once a popular dessert.
• In the United Kingdom, the avocado became widely available in the 1960s when it was introduced by Marks and Spencer under the name 'avocado pear'. However, many customers tried to use it as a dessert ingredient like other pears (e.g. with custard), and complained to the store that it was inedible. As a result, Marks and Spencer dropped the word 'pear' and labelled it simply 'avocado'.

Around the globe avocado culinary use as a savory food is:

• In Mexico and Central America, avocados are served mixed with white rice, in soups, salads, or on the side of chicken and meat.
• In Peru, they are consumed with tequeños as mayonnaise, served as a side dish with parrillas, used in salads and sandwiches, or as a whole dish when filled with tuna, shrimp, or chicken.
• In Chile, it is used as a puree with chicken, hamburgers, and hot dogs; and in slices for celery or lettuce salads. The Chilean version of Caesar salad contains large slices of mature avocado. In Kenya, the avocado is often eaten as a fruit, and is eaten alone, or mixed with other fruits in a fruit salad, or as part of a vegetable salad.
• A puree of the fruit was used to thicken and flavor the liqueur Advocaat in its original recipe, made by the Dutch population of Suriname and Recife, with the name deriving from the same source.
• In southern Africa, Avocado Ritz is a common dish.
• Avocado slices are frequently added to hamburgers, tortas, hot dogs, and carne asada. Avocado can be combined with eggs (in scrambled eggs, tortillas or omelettes), and is a key ingredient in California rolls and other makizushi ("maki", or rolled sushi).

Nutritional Value of Avocado for the Human Body
Avocados have diverse fats.  Typical avocado facts:

• About 75% of an avocado's calories come from fat, most of which is monounsaturated fat.
• Avocados also have 60% more potassium than bananas. They are rich in B vitamins, as well as vitamin E and vitamin K.
B-vitamins Health Benefits:
• support and increase the rate of metabolism
• maintain healthy skin, hair and muscle tone
• enhance immune and nervous system function
• promote cell growth and division, including that of the red blood cells that help prevent anemia
• reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer - one of the most lethal forms of cancer, when consumed in food, yet not when ingested in vitamin tablet form.
• B vitamins improve the symptons of  attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Sources of B vitamins: B vitamins are found in whole unprocessed foods. Processed carbohydrates such as sugar and white flour tend to have lower B vitamin than their unprocessed counterparts. B vitamins are particularly concentrated in meat such as turkey and tuna, in liver and meat products. Good sources for B vitamins include:
• kombucha
• whole grains
• potatoes
• bananas
• lentils
• chili peppers
• tempeh
• beans
• nutrional yeast
• brewer's yeast - Although the yeast used to make beer results in beers being a source of B vitamins, their bioavailability ranges from poor to negative as drinking ethanol inhibits absorption of thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), biotin (B7), and folic acid (B9). In addition, each of the preceding studies further emphasizes that elevated consumption of beer and other ethanol-based drinks results in a net deficit of those B vitamins and the health risks associated with such deficiencies
• molasses
Dietary Sources of Vitamin E:  
• wheat germ oil
• sunflower oil
• safflower oil
• nuts and nut oils like almonds and hazelnuts
• gree, leafy vegetables such as spinach, turnip, beet, collard and dandelion greens
• tomato products
• pumpkin
• sweet potato
• mangoes asparagus
• broccoli
• papayas
• avocados 
Vitamin K Sources:  Vitamin K1 is found chiefly in leafy green vegetables (to increase the bioavailability of phylloquinone in cooked greens such as spinach, add a bit of fat (such as extra virgin olive oil) to the greens (after cooking is completed)
• spinach
• swiss chard
• cabbage
• kale
• cauliflower
• broccoli
• brussel sprouts
• avocado
• kiwifruit
• grapes
• Avocados have a high fiber content among fruits – including 75% insoluble and 25% soluble fiber.
• A fatty triol (fatty alcohol) with one double bond, avocadene (16-heptadecene-1,2,4-triol), is found in avocado.

Prize-winning
Guacamole recipes

High avocado intake was shown in one study to lower blood cholesterol levels. Specifically, after a seven-day diet rich in avocados, mild hypercholesterolemia patients showed a 17% decrease in total serum cholesterol levels. These subjects also showed a 22% decrease in both LDL (harmful cholesterol) and triglyceride levels and 11% increase in HDL (helpful cholesterol) levels. Additionally a Japanese team synthesised the four chiral components, and identified (2R, 4R)-16-heptadecene-1, 2, 4-triol as a natural antibacterial component.






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