Five Good Reasons to Eat an Avocado Each Day

Avocado

Forget the fat in avocados because they are a super-healthy method to add valuable nutrients and fibers (yes, and healthy fat!) in your perfect diet plan. Many people, within their attempts to become health-conscious, avoid avocados due to its high fat concentration (138 calories and 14.1g fat in a medium-sized avocado). Yet avocados are one of the greatest foods you can eat, filled with nutrients and substances that improve the health of your heart. Listed below are five great reasons to eat them frequently.

1. Avocados are filled with carotenoids

Avocados best source of lutein, also carotenoid works as an antioxidant preventing eye illness. They also develop alpha-carotene as well as beta-carotene, as well as vitamin E.

However avocados aren't just a rich source of carotenoids, they also help you get more of beneficial nutrients from other meals. Carotenoids tend to be lipophilic (soluble within fat, but not in water), therefore eating carotenoid-packed foods like vegetables and fruits together with monounsaturated-fat-rich avocados, helps your body soak up the carotenoids. An easy way to get this done would be to add chopped avocado pieces to a mixed salad.

2. Avocados give you a sense of well-being

A small avocado consists of 3.4 grams of fiber, including soluble and insoluble fibers; both of these variations are needed by the body to keep the digestive tract running smoothly. In addition, soluble fibers slow the breakdown of carbohydrates in your body, helping you feel full for a longer time.

Avocados also contain oleic acids, which make you feel full. Healthier unsaturated fats that contain oleic acid have been shown to create a greater feeling of satiety compared to less-healthy saturated fats in fully processed foods.

3. The nutrients inside an avocado can protect your baby and your heart

One cup of avocado provides almost a quarter of your recommended daily intake of folate, the vitamin which reduces the risk of birth defects. If you're pregnant or going to be then avocados will help protect your unborn child.

A higher folate consumption is also associated with reduced risks of heart attacks and heart problems. Does your family have a history associated with heart issues, or has been showing any symptoms for heart disease? Avocados can help you maintain your heart healthy.

4. Avocados can help reduce your cholesterol

The actual oleic acid in an avocado will help decrease cholesterol levels. In one research, individuals consuming an avocado-rich diet plan had a significant reduction in total cholesterol levels, together with a decrease in BAD cholesterol. Their own amounts of HDL cholesterol (the healthy type) increased through 11%.

Heart problems are among the main risk factors for heart disease. The actual cholesterol-lowering properties of avocado, along with its folate content, help to keep your heart healthy.

5. The avocado has an excellent flavor

The final reason is simple because avocados are really a healthy method to boost the taste as well as size of the meals. Put a sliced avocado in a salad or soup; serve the guacamole as an appetizer or even condiment.

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Every Day Healthy Fit Grilling

With Memorial Day here, it's grilling season and as I looked at this week's menu my first thought was that I have to get the grill fired up but do it in a healthy way - and think beyond the fatty ribeyes I ate regularly for so many years.

Many us when we think of grilling we think of the huge slabs of meat and often the guy cooking them with a beer in hand and maybe a beer belly to match that slab of meat - typically not the healthy, fit image we are all striving for. But grilling in recent years has transformed dramatically from the days of a simple burger or steak on the grill. With the introduction of simple gourmet techniques like marinades or the introduction of unusual ingredients and spices, grilling today provides awesome quality food and cooked properly can be very fit. So let's look at some ways to keep your grilling days super-fit and soul-satisfying.

First, if you want to stay fit don't forget what are probably the healthiest thing we can eat - vegetables. Fresh vegetables can be cooked easily on the grill without fat and kept crisp to maintain phytonutrients. Whether it's peppers, tomatoes or onions on a kabob or just some simple vegetables grilled to accompany the meat or fish you will also be grilling, the more color the better. A classic American summertime food like sweet corn which is normally covered with butter can be made every bit as flavorful but far healthier when corn meets the grill. When I cook grilled sweet corn I just rub a bit of olive oil and sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper over it, grilling it until is has a few blackened kernels for taste you won't get from a pot of boiling water. No fatty butter there, only good fat from olive oil but still with all the flavor you want.

Second, let's look at our protein sources. Choose less fatty meats or fish and marinade them for flavor since they don't contain much fat which typically provides flavor. For beef: flank steak, sirloin, or beef tenderloin are good choices. Chicken breasts are perhaps the healthiest choice, and certain cuts of pork can be very healthy too.

Third, get creative with rubs, marinades, and sauces. Use rubs or marinades and the results can be outstanding. Marinades mean you can cook with out any added fat. You can also make meal preparation time super-quick by spending a few minutes in the morning marinating the meat and then in minutes prepare the dinner after a long day of work. I also have a special device for marinating that a chef at a Ritz Carlton at Half Moon Bay told me about after I had some amazing short ribs for dinner one night - but that's a topic for another day's blog. And for serving, maybe even include a sauce such as a vitamin-rich Argentina-inspired garlic chimichurri sauce or chipotle sauce which I often add depending on my mood. Even a simple hamburger can be made incredibly delicious and more healthful with the right approach (see my video on the grilled sirloin burger with chipotle sauce and guacamole which I will be cooking this evening and posting here later as an example),

Fourth, use your grill in innovative ways for other things. I use my gas grill for my homemade bruschetta. True authentic bruschetta (the real garlic bread) was always cooked on a greal grill, not an oven. In fact, the word bruschetta comes from an Italian/Latin word "bruscare" meaning to grill or cook over a fire. And talk about fit and delicious: grilled bread topped with a mixture of olive oil, fresh tomatoes, basil, and garlic, (or other ingredients like a fava garlic bean spread - get creative!) - rich in antioxidants, phytonutrients, and other vitamins. Need a super-low calorie meal some night? On occasion, I've had just bruschetta with wine and maybe a few bites of prosciutto or a simple bean soup for protein. Great summertime simple super-light meal.

Some final tips?

Watch the sodium and watch prepared marinades as most are full of way too much salt and fructose. You can make a marinade in minutes that is far healthier based on whole foods rather than dehydrated garlic, salt, and chemicals.

Watch your portions. Even a healthy meal will put fat on your body if you eat too much. Avoid that second serving.

Stick with low fat toppings. Most of the time watch out for cheese and mayo and instead choose a healthy fat source such as avocado or a topping with no fat.

And finally, just to be clear, I do sometimes cook something fattier and less healthy on the grill, whether it's a big ribeye or a beef brisket or Boston butt smoked, or even a simple burger. But rather than the weekly steak I used to eat, now I eat it rarely and choose healthier alternatives most days. But it never hurts to mix it up a little - after all we eat not only to keep our bodies fit but also our souls engergized. A little variety never hurts and it will keep your food and your life more interesting!

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Seven Anti-Aging Foods That Make You Look Younger Than Your Real Physical Age

Is it only genes that make some people look younger than their real physical age? Studies have shown that the world's longest-living communities are remarkably similar in two aspects: they eat mostly plant-based foods and they look younger than their real physical age.

If this is true, it makes sense to include these plant-based, anti-aging foods in our diet to make us look younger; delay the effects of aging; improve our skin elasticity; and stave off wrinkles.

What are these anti-aging foods? These are natural foods rich in selenium and powerful antioxidants such as Vitamins C and E.

Here is a list of seven anti-aging foods to help you look younger than your real physical age:

1) Avocados

Avocados are nature's best moisturizers.

Avocados are loaded with anti-aging nutrients such as Vitamin C and E, and Omega 3 fatty acids. Though a medium-size avocado has 30 grams of fat, all of it is healthy monosaturated fats that lower cholesterol and protect the heart.

Want to look younger? Eat an avocado a day to stave off wrinkles and keep your skin looking soft and supple.

2) Cucumber

Whether you eat it as a cucumber salad or make it into a cucumber cleanser, cucumbers are an excellent anti-aging food for improving tired, dehydrated skin. This reason is cucumbers are high in water content and contains high amounts of silica, a necessary mineral for smooth and glowing skin.

3) Lemons

Lemons are a Vitamin C powerhouse, an antioxidant vital for healthy skin and gums. One medium size lemon contains more than 45% of the daily recommended intake of Vitamin C. Lemons are the body's natural internal cleanser which aids digestion and clears toxins; leaving our skin clear and radiant.

Wake up in the morning to a glass of lemon juice or lemon water will help cleanse your skin and make you look younger.

4) Almonds

Almonds are an anti-aging food that is excellent for healthy skin, hair and nails because of their high content of Vitamin E.

The body needs Vitamin E to protect the cells from the onslaught of free radicals generated by air pollution, peroxides and ultra violet rays.

Eat ten to a dozen almonds a day. A quarter cup of almonds a day provides about 45% of the daily-recommended intake of Vitamin E.

5) Sunflower Seeds

Sunflower seeds are a remarkable anti-aging food and a Vitamin E and selenium powerhouse with very effective youth-enhancing qualities.

Eat a handful of sunflower seeds a day will help you look younger, stave off wrinkles and improve skin elasticity. In fact, a quarter cup of sunflower seeds will provide nearly 91% of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin E!

6) Brazil Nuts

Brazil nuts are a very rich source of selenium, a mineral that works very well with Vitamin E to stop oxidative stress and cell damage caused by free radicals; thus, slowing down the aging process.

Eat Brazil nuts are a powerful anti-aging food which must be eaten in moderation because of its high fat content. Eating just two Brazil nuts a day will provide you with enough selenium for younger skin and a younger you.

7) Blueberries

Look younger by eating one to two cups of blueberries a day for your daily 'dose' of anthocyanin, an anti-aging antioxidant that increases the potency of Vitamin C, one of nature's best moisturizers and a collagen-stimulating nutrient for the skin.

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