Science in the hot spots of the week | Does avocado make you fat or lose weight?

Avocado (Perseaa ericana Mil.l), also known as sour pear, oily pear, avocado, camphor pear, etc., is an evergreen plant of the genus Persea in the Lauraceae family. As a kind of fruit, it is not the kind of "low-energy, low-fat" fruit we are familiar with. Its advantage lies in its fat value.

The flesh of avocado is mainly composed of fatty acids, of which the content of monounsaturated fatty acids is about 60%~70%. It has the effect of lowering blood lipids and cholesterol, and can also prevent the accumulation of abdominal fat.

A study published in the Journal of Nutrition showed that women who eat an avocado every day can help redistribute abdominal fat and reduce deep visceral fat in the abdomen, thereby reducing the risk of certain metabolic diseases. During the experiment, researchers found that women who ate avocados lost more abdominal visceral fat, and the ratio of subcutaneous fat to visceral fat changed.

In addition, although avocados are high in energy, some of the fat and dietary fiber in avocados can delay gastric emptying by increasing their volume and viscosity, giving a strong sense of fullness, which can directly reduce your desire to eat snacks. A 200g avocado has about 322kcal calories, and a small bowl of rice is about 100g and has about 116kcal calories. In other words, the calories in a slightly larger avocado are equivalent to 2.78 bowls of rice (delight for rice lovers).

Therefore, for people who need to lose weight, eating half an avocado a day can help lose weight. But although avocados are good, there is no need to "deify" their role. From the perspective of nutrient content, avocados are indeed outstanding, with more unsaturated fatty acids, potassium and dietary fiber than many fruits.

However, it is still not advisable to consume too much avocado during the fat loss period. After all, it is a high-fat and high-calorie food, and too much calories may cause obesity.