With a large and ever-growing percentage of the world’s population overweight or obese, the hunt is on for the best weight loss foods, diets, workouts, and supplements.
And while there are no weight loss miracles (yet!), there are plenty of practical and accessible ways to lose weight.
In terms of nutrition, the best foods for weight loss are high in protein, fiber, and water and low in sugar. This makes them filling while still being low in calories.
Any diet will lead to weight loss, providing it reduces your calorie intake. The best diet is usually the one you can stick to. Not for a day or a week, but for as long as it takes to reach your goal weight.
Workout-wise, anything that gets you up and moving will increase your daily calorie expenditure. As for the best workout? It’s the one that you enjoy and are willing to do regularly.
There aren’t any magic weight loss supplements, but some fat burners show promise, as do protein powder, creatine, green tea extract, and cinnamon, although their effects are very small.
Some foods that appear fattening may also be helpful for weight loss. In this article, we explain how avocados could help you lose weight and reveal some of their other benefits.
Is Avocado Good for Weight Loss?
What are Avocados?
Avocados are large green fruits with a substantial stone in the center and tough, inedible skin.
Also known as butter fruit or alligator pears, avocados are unique in that they contain more fat than carbs, making them something of a ketogenic diet staple.
They’re also popular on the paleo diet.
Avocados, which are technically a berry, grow in warm climates and originate in south-central Mexico.
There are lots of different avocado varieties, including Monroe, Bacon, Gwen, Cleopatra, Lula, and Choquette.
Once ripe, avocados have soft, smooth flesh, making them ideal for dips, such as guacamole. Some people like to use mashed avocado as a dairy-free alternative to butter.
They’re also a common ingredient in salads. They can be eaten raw, but some avocado recipes require cooking.
Nutritional Information
Avocados are a confusing food! They’re a fruit but contain more fat than fructose. They’re high in calories but are considered healthy and could help you lose weight.
These are the nutritional values for an average-sized (200 gram/7-ounce) avocado:
- Calories – 322
- Fat – 29 grams
- Carbohydrate – 17 grams
- Fiber – 13 grams
- Net (useable) carbs – 4 grams
- Protein – 4 grams
In addition, avocados contain the following vitamins and minerals:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin K
- Niacin
- Folate
- Riboflavin
- Pantothenic acid
- Iron
- Potassium
- Magnesium
Avocados also contain the antioxidants lutein and beta-carotene.
Avocados and Weight Loss
Despite their high fat and calorie content, avocados can help you lose weight in several ways:
Filling – foods that contain a lot of fat and fiber stay in your stomach for longer, promoting satiety.
Adding avocado to your meals means that you’ll feel fuller for longer and experience less hunger.
If you get hungry between meals, a few slices of avocado could help. In studies, a tablespoon of guacamole proved to be a very effective appetite suppressant.
Lower blood glucose – high blood glucose levels are linked to weight gain, hunger, and an increased risk of type II diabetes.
High-fat avocados contain very little sugar and have been shown to help lower blood glucose levels. This creates a better environment for fat burning and reduces the risk of fat storage.
More energy for exercise – the fats in avocados can provide a non-sugar energy boost before exercise, leading to harder, longer workouts and increased energy expenditure.
Avocados may be the perfect pre-exercise energizer because, unlike sugary sports drinks, they don’t interfere with fat burning by raising your insulin levels.
Additional Benefits of Avocados
Eating avocados could help you lose weight, and there are a few additional benefits worth considering too:
Better cardiovascular health – avocados are high in heart-friendly monounsaturated fats. This is the same type of fat as olives and olive oil.
Studies have shown that eating less saturated fat and more monounsaturated fat can help lower bad LDL cholesterol while raising good HDL cholesterol, leading to a lower risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. Avocados also contain heart-healthy phytosterols, vitamins, and antioxidants.
Less belly fat – as well as helping you lose weight from all over your body, the monounsaturated fats in avocados may also rid your body of harmful belly fat. Belly fat is strongly linked to heart disease and diabetes.
Increased nutrient absorption – the fats in avocados make it easier for your body to absorb the vitamins and minerals from the other foods in your diet.
Adding avocado or avocado oil to things like salad or vegetable dishes makes them even more nutritious.
Protection against free radicals – free radicals are unstable molecules that can damage your cells and DNA. Cancer, heart disease, macular degeneration, and a host of other diseases are directly linked to free radicals.
Avocados contain several potent antioxidants, which are nutrients with the power to prevent free radicals damage.
Healthier pregnancy – avocados are high in folate, a nutrient that’s critical for fetal brain and spine development. One avocado contains roughly 50% of the recommended daily amount of folate for pregnant women.
Improved digestion – avocados are high in insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber is indigestible and helps move waste through your digestive system. Eating high-fiber foods like avocado will help keep you regular and prevent constipation.
Reduced risk of cancer – the folate in avocados may lower your risk of some types of cancers, including prostate and colon cancer.
Reduced Inflammation – chronic inflammation is linked to many diseases, including diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and arthritis.
The monounsaturated fats and vitamin E in avocados can lower inflammation, reducing your risk of inflammatory diseases.
Better bone health – avocados are high in vitamin K, which plays an essential role in bone health, and could prevent bone loss and ward off osteoporosis, a medical condition characterized by brittle, porous bones.
Downsides
Because of their high fat and calorie content, eating too many avocados could lead to weight gain, especially if you eat too much or unhealthily.
In addition, people with a known latex allergy may also be allergic to avocado as latex and avocados share some chemical characteristics.
People with a latex allergy should consult their doctors before adding avocado to their diets.
Bottom Line
There is no such thing as a fat-burning food. Even foods that are very low in calories, such as radishes, celery, and lettuce, contain more calories than your body uses to digest them. That said, some foods could help you lose weight faster and more easily, usually by making you feel fuller for longer.
High protein foods like chicken, eggs, and tuna are useful because they boost your metabolism. Whereas fibrous, high water foods like vegetables and some fruits are low in calories but very filling.
Avocados are neither of these things and yet, despite being high in fat and calories, they are a well-renowned weight-loss food.
It turns out that avocados are high in fiber and fat, so they’re very satiating, and because they’re low in sugar, they help keep your blood glucose levels low and stable. This creates the perfect storm for fat burning and weight loss.
In addition, avocados are high in beneficial nutrients, making them extremely healthy.
Eating avocados could help protect you from free radicals, inflammation, heart disease, improve your digestion, and even lower your cancer risk.
Eaten in moderation, avocados could help you lose weight and improve your health; what’s not to love!
