Avocado oil is delicious, healthful, and easy to incorporate into your diet. It is rich in carotenoids, polyunsaturated fats, oleic acid, and other antioxidant-rich components-which are linked to improved skin, eye, and heart health.
You know well that avocado is somewhat different from other fruits if you have ever eaten it.
It does have more useful fats than most other fruits and is often used to derive avocado oil. This oil has a delicious taste, just like olive oil, since this oil is not so popular.
Large amounts of antioxidants and good fats present in avocado oil provide many health benefits.
Following are eight evidence-based health benefits of avocado oil.
1.Full of oleic acid, a very good fat
Avocado oil is a natural oil extracted through the cold-pressing of avocado pulp. In about 70%, avocado oil is made up of heart-healthy oleic acid, a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid.
This fatty acid has also been thought to be responsible for some of the health benefits associated with olive oil, of which it is the major constituent also. Besides, about 13% of avocado oil is composed of polyunsaturated fat, and about 12% is saturated fat.
The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in avocado oil is 13:1. For health, we would prefer to see a ratio of 3:1 or 2:1. This, however should not pose any problems due to the overall volume of omega-6 involved.
The majority of scientific studies suggest that a diet rich in unsaturated fats can be protective against chronic diseases such as dementia and heart disease.
2.It helps reduce cholesterol and hardens the heart.
Unsaturated fatty acids, an ingredient that is common in avocado oil, has been associated with a healthy heart .
In a cross-over study of 13 subjects, they were first given a test meal with avocado oil containing 25 grams of unsaturated fat or a control meal with butter containing 25 grams of saturated fat.
Blood tests given 240 minutes after the meal showed that the test-meal group had significantly lower levels of blood sugar, inflammatory cytokines, total and LDL (bad) cholesterol, and triglycerides compared to controls.
3.Rich in lutein, a carotenoid antioxidant that’s beneficial for your eyes
Lutein is a carotenoid and antioxidant that’s present in your eyes and also found in avocados and their oil (9Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source).
One study found that dietary intake of lutein and its carotenoid companion, zeaxanthin, could decrease the risk for cataracts and age-related macular degeneration-two common causes of vision impairment and blindness in older adults-by 57 percent (11Trusted Source, 12Trusted Source).
Since your body can’t make lutein, it must be delivered through your diet. Thankfully, one great and eas
Lutein is a carotenoid and antioxidant that naturally exists in your eyes and can also be found in avocados and their oil (9Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source).
Adding avocado and its oil to your diet is one easy and healthy way to help maintain good eye health (13Trusted Source, 14Trusted Source).
5.Improved absorption of important nutrients
Some nutrients need fat to be mixed in so that your body will be able to absorb them. An example of these is that fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K require dietary fat in the gut for the body to absorb (15Trusted Source).
Examples are that beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin are fat-soluble. In fact, fruits and vegetables rich in carotenoids, such as watermelon and tomatoes, happen to be relatively low in fat (15Trusted Source, 16Trusted Source).
Therefore, adding avocado oil or other types of fat to your meal can improve the absorption of these nutrients.
One small study showed that when subjects added avocado oil to a salad containing spinach, romaine lettuce, and carrots, carotenoid absorption was enhanced. Compared with a fat-free salad, the increase was dramatic, from 4.3 to 17.4 times higher, suggests a study.
Other studies find that olive oil is highly effective at increasing carotenoid bioavailability due to its high content of oleic acid. The same can be said about avocado oil because it also contains a high amount of that same fatty acid. Thus, drizzling some avocado oil into your marinade or using it in salads and other dishes may help improve your body’s absorption of nutrients.
5.Possibly helps against symptoms of arthritis
Arthritis is a prevalent condition that causes excruciating inflammation in joints. Millions are affected worldwide .
In addition to other types of arthritis, the most common type of arthritis-osteoarthritis-is related to degeneration of joint cartilage (20Trusted Source, 21Trusted Source).
Several clinical studies have demonstrated that avocado and soybean oil extracts, commercially called ASU, are of potential benefit in reducing the stiffness and pain associated with symptomatic osteoarthritis.
6.Accelerates wound healing and improves skin
Fatty acids and other nutrients found in avocado oil may help your skin. Vitamins A and E, which are related to the health of skin membranes, are abundant in it (26Trusted Source).
After 12 weeks of treatment, a cream with 20% avocado oil and vitamin B12 reduced psoriasis symptoms in 24 patients with plaque psoriasis (27Trusted Source).
Additional research on both humans and animals has demonstrated the advantages of utilizing avocado oil to treat psoriasis and promote wound healing.
Healthy skin is associated with topical application and also with a diet rich in antioxidants, vitamins A and E, and unsaturated fatty acids.,
Topical application does not attempt to open up wounds. It purchases avocado oil-containing products from reliable suppliers.
7.Packed with antioxidants
Antioxidant-containing foods help fight free radicals, a type of unstable molecule that can cause cellular damage over time. If there is an imbalance and too many free radicals build up, this can lead to something called oxidative stress, which can increase the risk for cancers, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes (33Trusted Source, 34Trusted Source)
antioxidants have the ability to neutralize the free radical by giving them an electron to neutralize the harmful free radical (33Trusted Source, 34Trusted Source, 35Trusted Source, 36Trusted Source).
Various antioxidants valuable for health can also be found in avocado oil, including carotenoids, tocopherols-a form of vitamin E-and other plant sterols.
8.Extremely easy to use
From a technical standpoint, avocado oil has no health advantages despite being very versatile and easily added into your diet.
For example, its fatty acids are stable at very high temperatures-as high as approximately 520°F or 271°C-and therefore a safe, healthy choice of cooking oil for both hot and cold uses-37Trusted Source .
Summary
Avocado oil is delicious, healthy, and convenient.
It is rich in carotenoids, polyunsaturated fats, oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat, and other antioxidant-rich components, making it responsible for improved skin, eye, and cardiovascular health.
It is also very easy to fit into your diet as a salad dressing or in a marinade, dip, or as a replacement for most other vegetable oils.
Try avocado oil if you are seeking to make a switch.
