Cebu City - Good nutrition has always been about having a well-rounded diet. Living a nutritious life can be easy and fun especially if you explore into different recipes and varieties. Adding healthy fats to your diet is a good move. Not all fats are bad. Food that contains monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are important for our brain and heart health.

It is recommended to limit the foods with trans-fat because these are the culprit of heart diseases. One good choice of healthy fats is avocado. What are its uses and benefits to our bodies? Here are five (5) amazing facts about avocados.

• Avocados contains phytochemicals such as phenolic antioxidants and phytosterols which are associated with numerous potential health benefits and reduce the risk of chronic diseases,
• Avocados are loaded with dietary fiber. Dietary fiber has been known to help maintains bowel health, and touted to help lower cholesterol level,
• Unlike other fruits, avocados are low in sugar, and could improve insulin sensitivity,
• Avocados contain 15% monounsaturated fatty acids. MUFAs may have a modest antihypertensive effect,
• Avocados are loaded with lutein, which has been linked to improved cognitive function in young children and brain health in adults, and
• Avocado helps to lower body weight, body mass index, and waist circumference.

With avocados now in season, include them in your diet as your powerful source of vitamins and minerals, decrease the bad cholesterol in your blood thereby reducing your risk for stroke and heart disease. If you want to improve your diet, replacing your saturated fats sources into unsaturated one might be a good start. // PNFP Mary Bliss Joy P. Iguana

Source: Victor L Fulgoni, III, Mark Dreher and Adrienne J Davenport et al Avocado Consumption is associated with better diet quality nutrition intake, lower metabolic syndrome risks in US adults: results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey