Are Avocado’s really bad for us?
A recent post on social media informed me that the more health-conscious of us out there are eating the wrong food and the ‘healthy’ choices we are making are actually making us put weight on. Thank goodness I read it, I now know that nuts are bad for me, avocado is full of fat and I should avoid them at all costs, oh, for goodness sake…
A golf ball-sized snack of nuts will provide us with a mix of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. They do contain fat but it’s the good stuff; monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and omega 3. They have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol (the bad stuff) which improves cardiac health. They are perfect for an after exercise protein snack to repair muscles and have lots of fibre to keep us full for longer.
Yes, avocado has a high-fat content but, don’t be put off of eating them because of this fact, again it is the good stuff, the same as nuts with all the health benefits this gives. They have a massive range of nutrients with 20 different vitamins and minerals and have lots of fibre and are extremely good for us, you can even use them on your hair and skin!
Look at it this way, a mars bar has 230 calories, and 17g of rubbish fat, a 30g snack of mixed nuts has 182 calories, 15g of total fats and an avocado serving has approximately 50 calories, 4.5 grams of fat but only 0.5g of unhealthy saturated fat. The mars bar has no health benefits and will create an insulin spike meaning that you will be going back for more chocolate when it crashes down again which leads to weight gain and all the health problems that can go with it.
According to some social media ‘experts,’ there are so many foods that are bad for us that it seems that the best option is to go on the No Food diet and starve yourself for two days after which you can eat what you like. This seems to be the best way to shift the extra body weight. The evidence is there to be seen by all with the endless photos of rock hard abs on display with the caption “I got these from not eating and doing sit-ups from the moment I open my eyes until I close them again at night”. Well, of course, you’ll lose weight, you’re not eating! Forget the problem of trying to include the right balance of protein, fats, carbs, vitamins and minerals into your daily diet, you’re not getting any! Each meal is an opportunity to nourish our body and we should relish this, it’s about the food choices we make which will have an effect not the lack of it!
Here’s another good idea; if you work out on an empty stomach your body will burn more fat and you will lose weight quicker. I see regular posts from people who say that they train on an empty stomach because that way, they will burn off body fat. It really doesn’t make a difference; your body will burn fat when it runs out of calories to use, it doesn’t matter if you’ve eaten already that day or not As long as you are consuming fewer calories than you burn then you are going to burn fat so, no need to not eat!
Our bodies store fat. Fat is crucial to keep our body healthy, we need it for warmth, it protects our internal organs and we need it to absorb vitamins and minerals. Because of this, our body will do its best to keep hold of fat stores if we’re not giving it any other nutrients and if it thinks we’re on our last legs. Muscle is too much hassle for our body to maintain so the body will simply eat that after which it will utilise fat for energy as a last resort. So if you are trying to gain muscle you need to eat!
The message is, there will always be an ‘expert’ with an opinion so be careful of what you choose to believe. Always do your research, make sure that the advice comes from a credible source, don’t muck about with ‘diets’. For more info scroll through the Healthy Hub blogs, there are many about healthy eating, weight loss and training.
So, apply your avocado face-pack, nibble on your mixed nuts, relax and avoid all social media!
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