Avocado Eaters Have Smaller Waists and Other Scientific Reasons to Eat More Avocados

Remember Emily Litella, the frumpy Gilda Radner character on "Saturday Night Live" who passionately argued a position until she realized her premise was based on a misunderstanding. She would then turn to the camera and say in a high pitched voice, "Never mind."

More and more these days, nutritionists are like Emily Litellas, saying "Never mind" to their dire warnings of yesteryear. Such as don't eat too many eggs or avocados.
Part of the bad rap on avocados is that 85% of the calories come from fat; so it's like eating creamy green butter. Except it's not.

Avocados contain a good kind of fat called MUFAs (monounsaturated fatty acids), which sounds like something Superman might eat to gain special powers. Which they do, sort of.

Nutritionist Cynthia Sass writes on Health.com that not only do avocados decrease "bad" LDL cholesterol and increase "good" HDL cholesterol, they also "provide anti-aging, disease fighting antioxidants and nearly 20 different vitamins and minerals."

Fine. But avocados make you fat, right?

Not according to Sass, who points out that not only do "avocado eaters have higher intakes of fiber, vitamins E & K, magnesium and potassium . . . they weigh less and have smaller waists without eating fewer calories!"

Here are five more great reasons to eat avocados from the Seattle Organic Restaurants website:

1. Avocados protect against liver disease. I'm not saying you should drink a bottle of tequila with an avoacado chaser, but when Japanese researchers gave rats a "potent liver toxin," the rats who were also given avocados had the least amount of liver damage.

2. Avocados help keep your blood pressure low. That's because they contain potassium, omega 3 and folate -- all of which help prevent high blood pressure.

3. Avocados make your brain function better and may even help prevent Alzheimer's Disease. It's all the omega 3 fatty acids and folate again -- plus, the vitamin E.

4. Avocados help you see better.  The carotenoid lutein in avocados helps prevent "age-related degeneration and poor vision."

5. Avocados help prevent diabetes. The monounsaturated fat combats insulin resistance, and the fiber regulates blood sugar levels.

Though many dieters think eating as low fat as possible is the best way to slim down, I disagree. Eating a salad with avocado increases the absorption of vitamins from the other salad ingredients and makes you feel like you ate a real meal instead of rabbit food. I can even 86 -- or use far less -- salad dressing if my salad contains enough avocado.

Far from being a guilty pleasure, avocados are loaded with healthy ingredients and should be viewed as a friend vs. foe in the diet wars.

You can purchase Medifast replacement meals directly from Medifast Centers, the Medifast website or -- for no extra cost -- through the co-branded website of a Medifast TSFL health coach. Medifast does not recommend purchasing its products from third party vendors, but if you choose to do so, you can find them on both Amazon and eBay.

Medifast replacement meals on Amazon

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