Photo courtesy of @HealthyJulie
Today we’re sharing a snippet from B4BC Wellness Ambassador, breast cancer survivor, and our good friend Megan Pischke! If you know us, you know we love avocados and so does Megan. The health benefits of avocados include stopping the growth of cancer, while supporting the body’s natural defense mechanisms. A nutritional powerhouse, avocados provide a combination of comprehensive cancer fighters such as, carotenoids, vitamin E, lutein, and oleic acid. Naturally high in (healthy) fats, rich in fiber and loaded with nutrients – eating avocados make perfect sense and so does using them for all of their other other amazing properties. Megan is giving us 15 more reasons to add this superfood to our grocery lists:
- To start, avocados have become slightly sentimental to me. As I craved them daily for both of my pregnancies, and it was both my children’s’ first food that they still love to this day.
- They are good for your eyes! They contain lutein, and other carotenoids like Vitamin E, beta and alpha carotenes. They do a good job of helping to protect your eyes from diseases like macular degeneration and cataracts.
- Banana-honey-avocado hair mask — Blend in a Vitamix or blender, apply to wet hair, wrap in a towel for 20 minutes, then rinse. (A tablespoon of honey should do and a riper banana is best)
- Guacamole of all kinds! My favorite personal recipe — Chunked up mango, avocado, red onion, grated jicama, garlic, cilantro, dash of cayenne and a squeeze of lime or lemon.
- It’s quite tasty chunked up and put in chickpea-miso (or plain miso) soup.
- Fiber, tons of fiber. Half of an avocado contains nearly 6-7 grams of fiber. It has both soluble and insoluble fiber, which means it’s great for your digestive track and keeps things running smooth.
- Natural detoxification — By keeping your body regular with its fiber content, avocados assist in getting rid of toxins on a daily basis through your poo. This type of detoxing has been linked to regulating the immune system as well as reducing inflammation.
- They are full of fat; healthy, beneficial, brain feeding fat. Eating this kind of fat slows the breakdown of carbs into sugar, which in turn helps keep your blood sugar stable, and increases your focus.
- They contain folate — An important vitamin that assists in growing your baby while they’re kicking it in the belly. Folate is also crucial for cell repair, meaning any kind of physical and/or physiological stress could be reduced with this essential water-soluble Vitamin B.
- It’s good when smeared on toast instead of butter (Especially raisin cinnamon toast)
- Stress tamer! Oh yeah, it’s also good for your heart and bringing anxiety levels down when added to an already healthy diet.
- Rumor has it the seed of an avocado is possibly even better for you than the rest of the fruit. Chop or grind it up and add it to your smoothie — it’s bitter so choose your smoothie wisely.
- I make “ice cream” pie and popsicles with it — 3-4 avocados, 1 can coconut milk, 4-6 juiced limes, and a dash of cinnamon. Toss into the Vitamix or blender until smooth and place into popsicle containers. Or add it to an already prepared pie shell of flaked coconut or graham crackers.
- An avocado is a really easy, healthy meal to travel with. Pack a blunt knife, a spoon, some lemon/lime slices, cayenne and sea salt along with it.
- Cholula-in-da-hole: Slice an avocado in half- remove the pit and fill the space with Cholula, and share with someone you love.
Sources:
Best Health Magazine
Medical News Today
Web MD
One Green Planet
Natural Health 365
