Avocados Health Article

Going Deep in the Green Zone

Americans consume some 50 million pounds of avocados on Super Bowl Sunday—enough guacamole to cover an entire football field to a depth of nearly 12 feet.

Botany . . .

The large, savory berries of evergreen trees in the Laurel family, avocados are believed to have originated in MesoAmerica, where centuries of domestication have produced dozens of varieties prized for their rich, buttery texture, their size or their oil content. A single avocado tree may reach 80 feet and yield 100 to 400 fruits each year.

... and Desire

Simultaneously a culinary staple and a forbidden fruit, avocados have long been surrounded by an aphrodisiacal aura, for which there is no scientific evidence. Naming the avocado ahuacatl—testicle—the Aztecs began the long history of associating the avocados with human anatomy. They spread avocados on corn tortillas and touted them as sexual stimulants. By the time the Spaniards got hold of the avocado in the 16th century it was off limits to all confessing Catholics because of its purported arousing qualities.

Drizzles & Sizzles

High in healthy monounsaturated fat, avocado oil can be drizzled over salads and cooked vegetables. The oil also has the highest smoke point of any vegetable oil and can be used for special-occasion frying.

Mutant Treasure

Postman Rudolph Hass, who planted a small avocado grove in La Habra Heights, California, in the 1920s, by chance discovered the most widely recognized and appreciated variety, known today as the Hass avocado. His children noticed one exceptionally productive tree, and said they favored its strange dark, pebbled-skin fruit to other avocado varieties. The mutant tree immediately garnered the interest of growers and Hass avocados now account for approximately 90 percent of the domestic avocado crop.

Afloat in Red Ink

Spanish conquistadors discovered that avocado seeds yield a milky fluid that turns red when exposed to air. They used this indelible natural ink in documents that are preserved to this day. Sailors in the early 18th century relied on avocados for "midshipman's butter," spreading the creamy flesh on their otherwise hard biscuits. These days, Dr. David Heber of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition and author of What Color Is Your Diet? suggests using creamy mashed avocado in place of mayonnaise or butter in a sandwich.

High-Scoring Nutrition

Avocados are high in fiber and folate and a good source of vitamins C and E and potassium, with some vitamin B3 and magnesium. Although half of a medium avocado has 160 calories and 15 grams of fat, two-thirds of the fat is monounsaturated—a plus for most diets.

Global Mash

Filipinos blend sugar, milk and avocado for pale green smoothies; Brazilians and New Zealanders mash avocados in ice cream; and Koreans use the antioxidant-rich oil of avocados for facials. World leaders in avocado production are Mexico, the U.S., Chile, South Africa, Spain and Israel.

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