Are avocados fattening and bad for cholesterol?
Avocados are high in fat, but contain no cholesterol — no plant foods do. Along with olives, they are the only high-fat fruits. Between 70-90 percent of the calories in avocados are from fat, of which 60 percent is made up of “mono-unsaturated” fat or the “good” fat. This type of fat may help lower bad LDL cholesterol and therefore benefit people with heart disease when substituted for saturated fats. The Seven Countries Study and more recently the Multinational Monitoring of Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Disease (MONICA Project) have shown that a diet high in fat, but rich in mono-unsaturated fats can be associated with a low incidence of coronary heart disease. Avocados may also even help protect against certain kinds of cancer. They are also free of sodium and have all the benefits of being a plant food. To put the fat in perspective, avocados contain just five grams of fat per serving — a level usually acceptable for inclusion in a low-fat diet. A serving size would be
