Is Avocado Providing The Best Fat For The Keto Diet?
Avocados may have many significant benefits as well as many other fruits.
What separates avocados from most other fruits is the low sugar content and high-fat content.
No fruit can compete with Avocados when it comes to high fat and fiber content and a low amount of carbs.
Most of the fat content is monosaturated (Oleic Acid), which is known to be healthy and helpful in lowering LDL cholesterol if eaten in moderation.
With 1g of sugar and 15g of fat in 100g, avocado is an optimal source of fat for your keto diet.
Other significant sources you may want to include in your keto diet are:
- Nuts
- Seeds, imparticular Flax and Chia seeds
- Seed butter
- Hemp hearts
- Olives and cold-pressed olive oil
- Coconuts and unrefined coconut oil
If you want to follow the Keto Diet or you are already on it, you should eat healthy fats from avocados, olive oil, nuts, and seeds to your meals.
Replace animal fat with fat from those sources.
You can read more about the fat content and other nutrition facts in the Nutrition section.
Later in this article, we will add our fine-tuned recipe of avocado toast and guacamole to the other 1000+ of the same available online.
Even if Avocados are super healthy and tasty, there are potential risks to a small group of people. But more on that later.
If you are following the keto diet, you might be trying to create as much variety as possible without adding too many carbs to your plate.
To help you control the number of carbs you get from fruits, we added a table with the sugar content of many popular fruits so you can adjust your diet accordingly.
Fruit | Sugar in 100g (3.5oz) | Notes |
Apples | 10g | Remove seeds |
Avocados | 1g | Remove skin and pit. See this research for confirmation that avocado is safe for your dog. |
Bananas | 12g | Remove skin |
Blueberries | 10g | |
Cantaloupe | 8g | Remove seeds and rind |
Cherries | 8g | Remove pits |
Mangos | 14g | Remove pit |
Peaches | 8g | Remove pit |
Pears | 10g | Remove seeds |
Pineapples | 10g | Remove core and skin |
Raspberries | 4g | |
Strawberries | 5g | |
Watermelon | 6g | Remove seeds and rind |
Origin And Use Of Avocados
Avocados have been cultivated and consumed in Mexico for at least 5-10.000 years.
The word “avocado” is believed to be derived from the Nahuatl word “ahuacatl”, which means “testicle” and obviously describes the fruit’s shape.
It also likely refers to the fact that they believed the avocado to be an aphrodisiac.
Avocados have traveled from Mexico all over the world. Nowadays, there is hardly a country where avocados are not available.
There are many different variants (cultivars) of avocado, which vary in shape and size and can weigh anywhere from 0.5 pounds to 3 pounds.
The most popular variety is the Hass avocado.
Avocados have become increasingly popular as part of the modern diet. Everyone knows guacamole and avocado toast.
They are also referred to as a superfood that is not far off as they have the right amount of B vitamins and healthy fat.
You can eat the yellow-green flesh inside the fruit, but discard the skin and pit.
Avocato Nutrition and Benefits
Avocado Nutrition
Avocados are rich in vitamins and minerals.
Below you find the most important ones shown in grams or % of the daily recommended dosage based on 100g of avocado.
- Total Fat 15 g
- Total Carbs 4 g
- Dietary fiber 3 g
- Protein 2g
- Copper 10%
- Potassium 6%
- Magnesium 4%
- Vitamin B2 8%
- Vitamin B3 6%
- Vitamin B5 15%
- Vitamin B6 6%
- Vitamin B9 10%
- Vitamin C 4%
- Vitamin E 6%
- Vitamin K 10%
Avocado Health Benefits
The majority of the fat in avocado is Oleic Acid — a monounsaturated fatty acid that is also the primary component of olive oil. Oleic Acid may have the following health benefits:
- Reduces Blood Pressure
- Lowers Cholesterol
- Promotes Fat Burning
- Helps Prevent Type 2 Diabetes
- Promotes Brain Function
- May Help Prevent Ulcerative Colitis
- Fights Infections
- Promotes Skin Repair
- Helps Fight Cancer
The significant vitamin content of avocados also makes them an excellent ingredient for a healthy diet.
Avocado Calories
Avocados are high in fat. They are indeed one of the fattiest fruit there is.
Most of the fat content is monosaturated (Oleic Acid) and, therefore, healthy and helpful in lowering LDL cholesterol if eaten in moderation.
Because of the fat content, Avocados have a lot of calories.
The recommended serving size is only 1/3 of a medium avocado (50 grams 0r 1.7 ounces).
This serving size will give you 80 calories.
Even if avocados are the best fat for the keto diet, you still need to keep in mind that they do add a good amount of calories to your plate.
How to prepare avocados
Store them at room temperature until ripened. When the outside skins are black or dark purple and soft to the touch, they’re ready to eat or refrigerate.
The easiest way to get the fruit flesh out of the fruit:
- Cut the fruit in half (don’t try to cut through the seed) and pull the halves apart, leaving the seed in one half.
- To get rid of the seed, slap a sharp knife into the pit and twist.
- Remove the fruit flesh with a spoon and put on a cutting board or into a bowl.
There are many ways to enjoy avocados. We give you recipes below for Avocado Toast and Guacamole.
We also added some links to other recipes that we think are awesome.
Never eat avocado deep-fried; it just shows a lack of taste.
Avocado Recipes
Avocado Toast
Ingredients:
- ½ avocado
- ½ teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- One finely chopped cherry tomato without seeds (optional)
- Dash of salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Red chili flakes
- Fresh coriander leaves
- Toasted newly made sourdough bread
Preparation
- Mix all ingredients in a small bowl using a fork
- Top toasted bread with mashed avocado mixture
- Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle over Arctic sea salt flakes, red pepper flakes, and fresh cilantro
Guacamole
Ingredients:
- Three avocados
- One lime, juiced
- One teaspoon salt
- ½ cup diced red onion
- Three tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- Two tomatoes, diced without seeds
- One ts minced garlic
- 1/2 ts red pepper flakes
Preparation:
- In a medium-sized bowl, mash together the avocados, lime juice, and salt
- Mix in red onion, cilantro, tomatoes, and garlic.
- Add red pepper flakes.
- Serve
More Avocado Recipes
- From the Blond Cook – Shrimp and Avocado Salad
- From Portuguese Today – Avocado Smoothie
- From Inspired Taste – Avocado Pasta
- From Cookie And Kate – Fresh Herbed Avocado Salat
Avocado Medical Research
- Hass Avocado Composition and Potential Health Effects
- Habitual Diet and Avocado Trial (HAT)
- Impact of avocado-enriched diets on
plasma lipoproteins: A meta-analysis
Avocado known Risks
Latex Allergy
If you have a severe latex allergy, you should consult with your doctor before adding avocado to your diet.
It is known that people with a severe allergy to latex may experience symptoms after eating an avocado.
Summary
Avocados are not only popular because they are healthy and give a smooth, creamy texture to any dish.
They are a critical item to many traditional South American recipes and have become an essential part of breakfast, lunch, and dinner all over the world.
Avocados are very low in sugar and high in healthy fats and are therefore easily the fruit that provides the best fat for the keto diet.
They are, for sure a great benefits for any recipe or diet.