360 degrees of wellness and fitness
360 degrees of wellness and fitness  

360 Tips and Tricks: Devin and Gina's fun and interesting exercises, thoughts and insights on everything healthy.

Thursday, January 28, 2010
"Avocado" the SUPERFOOD

If I could post a picture of an avocado with a Superman cape on I would.
Avacado is one of the best fruits you can eat.

Not only is it packed with monounsaturated fat, but it excellent for weight loss.

People seem to think that avocado's are too high in fat to eat.
Yes, avocado is full of fat - but it's full of good fat. Bad fat makes you fat; good fat keeps you from getting fat.
Avocado possesses a double whammy when it comes to weight loss and blood sugar metabolism. Avocado contains a unique weight loss friendly carbohydrate called mannoheptulose.

Mannoheptulose is a rare form of sugar, found primarily in avocado. Mannoheptulose has been found to lower insulin secretion.  To understand how the inhibition of insulin is helpful to weight loss we need to understand insulin resistance.

An underlying cause of the obesity epidemic is insulin resistance. Insulin resistance occurs when the cells lining your arteries become resistant to the action of the hormone insulin. Your body uses insulin to pull sugar from your blood and into your cells where it can be used as energy. When your cells become resistant to insulin your body has no choice but to store your blood sugar as fat. People with insulin resistance make too much insulin. Too much insulin only makes the problem of weight gain and difficulty with weight gain worse. Avocado actually helps to reverse the problems that we see with insulin resistance, by virtue of the presence of mannoheptulose and its high content of good fats.

I like to slice mine up, sprinkle with coarse sea salt and enjoy. We put them in sandwiches, on salads, eat them alone or with pita crisps. Anyway you slice 'em, avocado's are a kick ass food!

If you don't know how to buy them ask your local produce clerk at the grocery store. I buy them a little green and put them on top of the fridge to finish softening up. If you only want 1/2 at a time, leave the seed in the half you're going to store in the fridge to keep it from turning brown.

So, give an avocado a chance and go buy some today!

Gina

www.360online.ca


















ask the trainer

Previous Posts


Archives


Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]