Avocado Facts (100 things you never knew about avocados)

Avocado nutrition facts

1.According to the United States Department of Agriculture, a slightly larger than average avocado weighing 201 grams contains 322 calories.

2. For those who are not very good at maths, that’s around 160 calories per 100 grams of pure avocado goodness!

3. An avocado is high in healthy fats. 100 grams of avocado contains around 15 grams of good fats that are a benefit to your healthy living.

4. Those healthy fats are broken down into, 2.1g of saturated fat.

5. 1.8g of Polyunsaturated fat, which is great for maintaining a healthy heart.

6. 10g of Monounsaturated fat, which is also great for lowering cholesterol.

7. 100 grams of avocado contains no cholesterol, so if you’re looking to lower your cholesterol levels, choose an avocado as part of your daily intake of food.

8. Sodium is an important part of our diet in moderation. It’s great news that avocados only contain 7 mg of sodium per 100 grams.

9. People think that bananas are the king of the potassium count, but no! A 100g of banana contains 358 mg versus 485 mg for avocado. That’s a big win for the avocado in the potassium stakes.

10. Carbohydrate is an essential part of our diet. It’s great news, avocados contain 9 grams of healthy carbs per 100 grams.

11. Fiber helps everything run smoothly in our bodies. Well, you’re looking at a massive 7 grams of fiber per 100g of this magic green fruit.

12. No need to worry about sugar contents. Only 0.7 grams are in 100 grams.

13. Not known for high protein levels, but 100 grams does provide around 2 grams of protein to help you maintain your muscle mass.

Vitamins and minerals in avocado

14. Let’s not forget about vitamins. 100 grams contain these percentage amounts per day of recommended intake,

• Vitamin A – 2%.

• Vitamin C – 16%

• Vitamin B-6 15%

• Vitamin K – 21 mcg per 100g 

15. There’s some minerals too. These are the percentage amounts per day for a recommended diet per 100 grams.

• Magnesium 7%

• Calcium 1%

• Iron 3%

16. With all those vitamins and minerals, they act as “booster” to help absorb other important nutrients in our diet, such as vitamin E.

17. Carotenoids: These little groups of  compounds are very important for eye health, and the little green fruit contains these essential nutrients.

18. Persenones A and B: These antioxidants help protect against inflammation and cancer.

19. D-Mannoheptulose: Part of the sugar contained in an avocado is of this type. This is great news as it helps to stabilize blood sugar levels.

20. Eating avocados as part of a healthy diet will help you maintain a healthy body and lifestyle and that’s a FACT! 

Health Benefits of avocados

21. Avocados are great for preventing liver damage due to the nutrient density of its compounds.

22. The high levels of potassium help in maintaining kidney function and health.

23. Due to its anti-inflammatory properties, avocados are a great way to help treat arthritis.

24. The antioxidant properties of avocados have a whole host of benefits to our health, including, reducing free radicals.

25. Avocados have been proven to help maintain and lose weight, when eaten as part of a healthy diet.

26. Those carotenoids I mentioned earlier help to strengthen bones and also aid the onset of osteoarthritis.

27. The high fiber content helps reduce sugar spikes in the bloodstream, helping reduce the symptoms of diabetes.

28. All those healthy compounds have a great effect. I’m helping with slowing down the ageing process.

29. Full of vitamin B6 will help with morning sickness and general nausea.

30. Although fairly rare, vitamin K deficiency in pregnancy may cause complications. Avocados are a great source of vitamin K.

History of avocados

31. The earliest use of avocado found by archaeologists date back to 7,000 years B.C in Peru.

32. Avocado seeds have been found buried with Incan mummies dating back as far a 750 B.C.

33. Although evidence suggests that humans were consuming avocados nearly 10,00 years ago. Research has shown that it wasn’t until around 5,000 years ago that humans began to farm and cultivate this beautiful fruit.

34. The first Europeans to eat avocados were the Spanish Conquistadors in the 16th Century.

35. The Irish naturalist Sir Hans Sloane is credited with associating the word “avocado” way back in the late 17th Century.

36. Avocado cultivation in Florida didn’t start until 1833.

37. Popularity of avocados in the United States didn’t really take off until the 1950s.

38. Prior to 1915, avocado was referred to as “alligator pear”.
39. Marks & Spencer claimed to be the first supermarket in Britain to stock avocados in 1968.

40. In the 1990s guacamole began to become popular at the Super Bowl as a dip for tortilla chips.

Avocado global market

41. The top 3 largest exporters of avocados are Mexico, Dominican Republic and Colombia, with Mexico leading the way.

42. The SAGARPA report that 2 out of every 10 avocados consumed in the US are from Mexico.

43. Peru is an up and coming exporter. Estimated growth in exports will exceed 230,000 tonnes in 2018.

44. Colombia, negotiated with the US in 2017 to allow importation of the fruit.

45. Most of Colombia’s avocados are shipped to the EU. The UK being the largest market at 33%.

46. Israel imports and both grow their own, having over 8,000 hectares dedicated to growing.

47. The market in Sweden is growing. One supermarket claimed an 8% growth in the last year, mainly due to “Taco Friday” which has become a popular phenomenon in Sweden.

48. Avocado consumption in the US is expected to be around 50 million pounds in weight per week.

49. The fruit is starting to emerge in Eastern markets too. China imported 30 million kilos in 2017 alone.

50. Colombia is to host “The World Avocado Congress” in 2019 for the first time!

The “How to” facts about avocados

51. How to cut an avocado: There are many ways to cut an avocado. The preferred method is to use a sharp knife and slice through lengthways until the knife hits the pip. Then remove the pip by pressing into it and pulling gently.

52. How to eat avocado: One of the greatest things about this amazing fruit is the number of both savory and sweet dishes and recipes that you can produce with an avocado. There is no right or wrong way it’s up to you!

53. How to ripen an avocado: Place in a brown paper bag with an apple or banana and let the magic take place.

54. How to grow a tree: You can grow a tree from a single pip left over from your recipe or dish. There’s also many avocado tree growing kits out there, why not buy one and try it yourself.

55. How to tell if ripe: When you press the skin it should give just slightly, but not become indented.

56. How to Freeze: There’s a number of ways to freeze avocado. Cut them in half and peel the skin, then squeeze lemon juice over and lace in a plastic freezer bag.

57. How to tell if rotten: If the meat is brown or black in colour near the edges then it’s bad, however you can cut these bits away and still eat the lovely green flesh.

58. How to keep: Store in a fridge when whole and they will last up to 2 weeks. Cover half cut avocados with a light glaze of olive oil or lemon juice and place in an airtight container.

59. How to peel: Cut into wedges and simply pull the skin away. The skin is fairly tough so should stay intact.

60. How to grill an avocado: Cut in half, remove the seed, peel away the skin and drizzle with oil. Then place under the grill.

Fun facts about avocados

61. It’s not essential to but organic. Due to their thick skin, pesticides do not affect the core of the fruit.

62. Avocados grow on a tree, but they only ripen once picked.

63. Avocados are called “Butter Pears” in India and China.

64. 150 grams of avocado provides around 40% of dietary fibre per day.

65. You can replace butter in a baking dish with avocado. It’s creamy texture and fat content work wonders for baking a healthy alternative.

66. Avocado as you may have discovered is a fruit.

67. There are over 500 varieties of avocado grown around the world.

68. Avocado trees can sometimes live up to 400 years or more in Mexico.

69. Avocado is native to South Central America.

70. In Brazil, they add avocado to ice cream, why not give it a try.

71. The size of an average avocado is the size equivalent of a 16 week old baby in the womb.

72. 20 vitamins and minerals are contained in an avocado.

73. A commercial orchard will produce from 7 to 20 tonnes per hectare per year.

74. It’s botanically classified as a member of the Lauraceae plant family.

75. An avocado tree can grow as high as 65 to 70 feet.

76. The tree has both male and female flowers, to avoid self pollination, they grow at different times and pollinate with the tree close by. This phenomenon is called “Dichogamy”.

77. California produces 95% of the United States home grown avocados.

78. Produced into a pulp it can be applied to the skin to help alleviate sunburn.

79. It takes roughly 25 pounds in weight of avocados to produce a 33 ounce bottle of oil.

80. Avocado oil has the highest smoke point of 520 degrees F.

81. In Spain, they call it “poor man’s butter” this came about due to the abundance compared to butter many years ago in parts of the country.

82. The leaf of the avocado tree is used in Mexico to brew medicinal tea.

83. Amazingly, avocados are being used by some as ring boxes to propose to their partner. The craze started on Instagram of course.

84. In the 1950, avocado coloured bathrooms became very popular. They may still make a comeback, who knows.

85. Artist Boris Toledo Doorm, creates pictures on white plates  just using the green pulp of the fruit as a painting medium.

86. Jan Campbell uses the pits from an avocado to carve beautiful miniature figurines, go check em out!
87. Food innovation never stops, one of the latest trends is to use an avocado cut in half as an alternative bun for a burger in the middle.

88. Avocado may be great for us humans, but they are toxic to certain animals, such as horses, cattle, goats and birds.

89. The grated pit of an avocado has many uses.

90. People make jewelry from the pit of an avocado.

Recipes using avocado

91. Try avocado on toast with bacon and poached egg, delicious.

92. Fish accompanies avocado wonderfully, why not try a salad with prawns or smoked salmon.

93. Grilled steak and avocado go together like bacon and eggs, as long as you like steak of course!

94. You can slice them and place in a pitta bread pocket along with cheddar cheese , watercress and mayo.

95. Take an original Greek salad and add slices of avocado for that magic fusion of taste.

96. Did you know chorizo is a great accompaniment to avocado?

97. Black bean and avocado salsa are a match made in heaven and that’s a fact.

98. That old favorite macaroni and cheese is boosted to new levels when you mix in an avocado.

99. Did I mention you can make ice cream with avocado? Yeap it’s true!

100. Finally, the name avocado comes from an Aztec word meaning “testicle” due to it’s similar shape, or maybe because it has aphrodisiac properties.

Summary 

There you have it, 100 amazing and not so amazing facts about avocado! Now I’m off to cut and prepare myself an avocado dish….oh what to have?, there’s so many to choose from. Enjoy!