Avocado, a Powerful Nutrient Booster

It’s important to remember that it’s not just the presence of nutrients in our food that matters, it’s also our body’s ability to absorb these nutrients. There are certain foods that enable the body to absorb nutrients well. The avocado is one such SuperFood.

Avocado health benefits surpass the nutrients found in avocados alone: Avocados actually improve the body’s ability to absorb nutrients from other foods. In one study, adding about half an avocado (75 grams) to a carrot, lettuce, and spinach salad increased the absorption of the following nutrients in the subjects who ate the salad: alpha-carotene by 8.3 times, beta-carotene by 13.6 times and lutein by 4.3 times compared with the absorption rate of the same salad without avocado.

In a second study, adding a medium avocado (150 grams) to a serving of salsa increased the absorption of lycopene 4.4 times and the absorption of beta-carotene 2.6 times compared with eating the salsa without the avocado.

Both studies concluded that the healthy monounsaturated fat in the avocado caused a significant increase in the absorption of the fat-soluble carotenoid phytonutrients in the meal.

So, eat half an avocado to get the full benefits of the other vegetables you eat. You’d be surprised how much of a difference it makes.