Avocado Pleasure

By Dr. Jessica Monteleone

My husband honored the bake sale offered by our church teens this week by purchasing a few brownies. No, they did not look dense, dark or worth the calories. So, I declined even a bite. I had a hankering for chocolate. So, I decided to make my own brownies with avocado and pumpkin that afternoon.

Now, my dad was the kind of guy that was always looking for food. Whenever he saw me, I received a big hug, then, the first words that came out of his mouth were, “What do you have for your father to eat?” Dad lived to eat. My girlfriend Pamela snubbed my fresh baked, healthy brownies asking, “Jessica, why do you put these weird foods in your cooking?” I eat to live. The food that I put in my body is nutrient dense fuel, so that I can do what I’ve been called to do, and the avocado is one of those foods.

The avocado is a rather unique type of fruit. Most fruit consists primarily of carbohydrate, while avocado is high in healthy fats. Numerous studies show that it has powerful, beneficial effects on health. So, let me convince you to enjoy them as well.

1. Avocados are amazingly nutritious. This fruit is prized for its high nutrient value and is eaten raw or added to dishes for its good flavor and rich texture. Avocados contain a wide variety of nutrients, including 20 different vitamins and minerals. One half of an average avocado offers: Vitamin K: 26%, Folate: 20% Vitamin C: 17%, Potassium: 14%, Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid): 14%, Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine):13% Vitamin E:10% RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance). Small amounts of Magnesium, Manganese, Copper, Iron, Zinc, Phosphorous, Vitamin A, B1 (Thiamine), B2 (Riboflavin) and B3 (Niacin) are present as well. At 160 calories, avocados have 2 grams of protein and 15 grams of healthy fats. Although it contains 9 grams of carbs, 7 of those are fiber so there are only 2 “net” carbs, entitling this a low-carb friendly plant food.
2. Avocados contain more potassium (14% RDA) than bananas (10% RDA). Potassium helps maintain electrical gradients in the body’s cells and serves various important functions. 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.
3. Avocados are loaded with Heart-Healthy Monounsaturated Fatty Acids. 77% of the calories in it are from fat, making it one of the fattiest plant foods identified, however, the majority of the fat in avocado is oleic acid; a monounsaturated fatty acid that is also the major component in olive oil. Oleic acid has been linked to reduced inflammation and been shown to have beneficial effects on genes linked to cancer. The fats in avocado are also resistant to heat-induced oxidation, making avocado oil a healthy and safe choice for cooking.
4. Avocados Are Loaded with Fiber. 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. ½ of avocado contains 7 grams of fiber, 27% RDA.
5. Eating Avocados are heart healthy. Eating good fat can improve blood markers tested for heart disease. Sounds Bizarre doesn’t it? However, studies have shown that avocados can reduce total cholesterol levels significantly reduce blood triglycerides by up to 20%, lower LDL cholesterol by up to 22%, and increase HDL (the “good”) cholesterol by up to 11%.
6. People Who Eat Avocados Tend to be Healthier. Studies show that Avocado eaters 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.
7. The Fat in avocados helps the gut to absorb nutrients from plant foods. The healthy fat found in avocados allows bioavailability of vitamins A, D, E and K as well as antioxidants such as 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. Thus, it can dramatically increase the nutrient value of other plant foods that you are eating. This is an excellent reason to always include a healthy fat source when you eat veggies. Without it, a lot of the beneficial plant nutrients will go to waste.
8. Avocados Are Loaded with Powerful Antioxidants called Lutein and Zeaxanthin that can protect the eyes. Studies show that these nutrients are linked to a drastically reduced risk of cataracts and macular degeneration, which are common in the aged.
9. Avocado May Help Prevent Cancer. There is limited evidence that avocado may be beneficial in preventing cancer. One study showed that it may help reduce side effects of chemotherapy in human lymphocytes. Avocado extract has also been shown to inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells.
10. Avocado Extract May Help Relieve Symptoms of Arthritis. Multiple studies have shown that extracts from avocado and soybean oil, called Avocado and Soybean unsaponifiables (ASU), can reduce inflammation which reduces symptoms of osteoarthritis of the bones.
11. Eating Avocado May Help You Lose Weight. These nutrient dense fruits are high in fiber, and very low in carbs. One study revealed that people eating the avocado expressed 23% more satisfied and had a 28% lower desire to eat over the next 5 hours over non-avocado eaters.
12. Avocados are user friendly. Try sliced avocado on a salad, or in a guacamole with salt, garlic, lime. Add it to your sandwich, make a creamy salad dressing or add them to deviled eggs. Replace your mayonnaise or fats with avocados in your recipes. You might want to get real brave and try them in your brownies. If you like your desserts sweet, add a ½ cup honey and 2 teaspoons of vanilla to the baked portion of this recipe. Enjoy avocados.  Eat them for the health of it.

Pumpkin Avocado Brownie

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients for brownies:

• 1 avocado
• 1 C canned pumpkin
• ½ C applesauce
• ¼ C honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 C coconut flour
• 2 tbsp corn starch
• ½ C cacao powder
• ½ tsp sea salt or Himalayan salt
• 1 tsp baking soda

Topping:

• ¼ C honey
• ½ C nut butter
• ¼ C cacao powder
• ½ C coconut milk
• Sea Salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 8×8 pan with coconut oil. In a bowl, combine avocado, pumpkin, applesauce, honey and vanilla. Once creamy, add in cacao powder.  Add in eggs one at a time.  In a separate bowl, combine coconut flour, corn starch, salt and baking soda. Combine both mixtures until smooth. Transfer to greased pan and bake for 25-35 minutes

While baking, combine the last 5 ingredients listed under topping in a separate bowl and mix until creamy and smooth. Once the brownies are done baking and cooled; frost with this mixture.

Dr. Jess Monteleone resides in Freeport. She is a local physical therapist with a Doctorate in Traditional Naturopathic medicine. Visit wholistictherapyathome.com.