Avocado Pear: Natural Strength To The Cells

What we refer to as “avocado” is the fruit of the avocado tree, called Persea americana. This fruit is prized for its high nutrient value and is added to all sorts of dishes due to its good flavor and rich texture. It is the main ingredient in guacamole. These days, the avocado has become an incredibly popular food among health conscious individuals. It is often referred to as a superfood, which is not surprising given its health properties.

It is often called “alligator pear,” which is very descriptive because it tends to be shaped like a pear and have green, bumpy skin, like an alligator. The yellow-green flesh inside the fruit is eaten, but the skin and seed are discarded. Avocados are very nutritious and contain a wide variety of nutrients, including 20 different vitamins and minerals. Avocado could be eaten with many other foods, some even using it as a substitute for butter.
Potassium is a nutrient that most people aren’t getting enough of. This nutrient helps maintain electrical gradients in the body’s cells and serves various important functions. Avocados are actually very high in potassium with a 100 gram (3.5 ounce) serving containing 14% of the RDA, compared to 10% in bananas, which are a typical high potassium food. Several studies show that having a high potassium intake is linked to reduced blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure.


Again, avocado is a high fat food. In fact, 77% of the calories in it are from fat, making it one of the fattiest plant foods in existence. But they don’t just contain any fat the majority of the fat in avocado is oleic acid. This is a monounsaturated fatty acid that is also the major component in olive oil and believed to be responsible for some of its beneficial effects. Oleic acid has been linked to reduced inflammation and have been shown to have beneficial effects on genes linked to cancer.

Fiber is another nutrient found in relatively large amounts in avocado. Fiber is indigestible plant matter that can contribute to weight loss, reduce blood sugar spikes and is strongly linked to a lower risk of many diseases. A distinction is often made between soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber is known to be able to feed the friendly gut bacteria in the intestine, which are very important for the optimal function of our bodies. A 100 gram (3.5 ounce) serving of avocado contains 7 grams of fiber, which is 27% of the recommended daily amount.


Heart disease is the most common cause of death in the world. It is known that several blood markers are linked to an increased risk. This includes cholesterol, triglycerides, inflammatory markers, blood pressure and various others. The effects of avocado on some of these risk factors have been studied in 8 human controlled trials. These are studies where people are split into groups; one group is instructed to eat avocados, while the other is not. Then researchers see what happens to their blood markers over time.

Avocado consumers were found to be much healthier than people who didn’t eat avocados. They had a much higher nutrient intake and were half as likely to have metabolic syndrome, a cluster of symptoms that are a major risk factor for heart disease and diabetes. People who ate avocados regularly also weighed less, had a lower BMI and significantly less belly fat. They also had more HDL (the “good”) cholesterol. However,  correlation does not imply causation and there is no guarantee that the avocados caused these people to be in better health.

When it comes to nutrients, the total amount of them is not the only thing that matters. We also need to be able to absorb them, move them from the digestive tract into the body, where they can be used. Some nutrients are “fat soluble,” meaning that they need to be combined with fat in order to be utilized. This includes vitamins A, D, E and K, along with antioxidants like carotenoids. One study showed that adding avocado or avocado oil to either salad or salsa can increase antioxidant absorption by 2.6 to 15-fold.

Not only do avocados increase antioxidant absorption from other foods, they are also high in antioxidants themselves. This includes nutrients called Lutein and Zeaxanthin, which are incredibly important for eye health. Studies show that these nutrients are linked to a drastically reduced risk of cataracts and macular degeneration, which are common in the elderly. Therefore, eating avocados should have benefits for eye health over the long term.

Not only are avocados healthy, they’re also incredibly delicious and go with all sorts of foods. You can add them to salads and various sorts of recipes, or you can simply scoop them out with a spoon and eat them plain. They have a creamy, rich, fatty texture and blend well with various other ingredients. A notable mention is guacamole, which is arguably the most famous use of avocados. It includes avocado along with ingredients like salt, garlic, lime and a few others depending on the recipe.