Top 30 Amazing Facts About Avocado | Amazing Facts 4U
- Avocados, native to Central and South America, have been cultivated in these regions since 8000 B.C.
- Avocado is a fruit, although mostly treated as a vegetable. It is specifically a berry. They belong to the Genus Persea in the Lauraceae family.
- Avocado is one of the top healthiest foods on earth. It is also called an Alligator Pear because of its pear-like shape and green skin.
- The major commercial producers of avocados are the United States, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, and Colombia.
- Hass is the most popular variety of avocado grown worldwide which was discovered in the backyard of a mailman named Rudolph Hass in California in the 1930′s and he patented his tree in 1935.
- Amazingly Hass avocado had to wait about 35 years before it really became really popular now accounting for 95% of the crop.
- The coastal regions of central and southern California grow about 90% of the domestic crop in the USA. San Diego County is the Avocado Capital producing 40 % of all the avocados grown in California.
- A single California Avocado tree can produce about 150 to 500 avocados per year.
- Amazingly avocado trees do not self-pollinate; they need another avocado tree close by to bear fruit. They have been the Aztec symbol of love and fertility as they grow in pairs!
- Avocado is a fruit and is climacteric, meaning it matures on the tree but ripens off of the tree. Avocados must be mature to ripen properly. If not picked up on maturity, they would fall off the tree and ripen on the ground.
- Avocados are the fruit from Persea Americana, an evergreen tree that can grow up to 65 feet.
- The amazing fact is that avocados can stay on a tree for as long as 18 months before they fell off.
- All avocados are picked by hand. Labor and water are the major cost factors for avocado growers. Avocado trees are tall and a 16-foot pole with a pouch and clipper at one end is used to pick the out-of-reach fruit.
- Avocados are naturally packaged as their thick skin which is not to be eaten protects them shielding the green edible part inside.
- Avocados are ripe when they feel heavy for their size, yield to light pressure, and are dark in color. To facilitate ripening, you may put it in for 3-4 days in a brown paper bag.
- The process of ripening of avocado can be speeded up by putting a banana or apple in the bag. This is due to the release of natural ethylene gas from them.
- The best way to peel an avocado is what is called the “nick and peel” method. Cut the avocado lengthwise. Hold both halves and twist them in opposite directions until they separate. Remove the seed and cut each of the halves lengthwise into long quarter sections. Using your thumb and index finger, grip the edge of the skin on each quarter and peel it off.
- Avocados are a good snack to feed to babies young and old!
- Avocados can be part of sandwiches and salads. It can serve as a butter substitute. Brazilians add them to ice cream.
- One medium-sized avocado (About 70 grams) provides 115 calories, 10 grams fat, 6 grams carbohydrates, 0.2-gram sugar, 14 mg vitamin K, 60 mg folate, 6 mg vitamin C, 350 mg potassium, 0.4 mg vitamin B6, 1.3 mg vitamin E, and 20 mg magnesium. It is sodium-free.
- While a banana is well known for its potassium content, avocado provides about double potassium compared to it.
- Avocados have the highest fiber content of any fruit. Each medium-sized avocado has about 10 grams of fiber both insoluble (75%) and soluble (25%). Insoluble fiber speeds up the passage of foods while soluble fiber makes you feel full.
- Avocado is one of the only fruit which is a very rich source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat (MUFAs) that helps boost good (HDL) cholesterol and lowers bad (LDL) cholesterol.
- Avocados help the body absorb more fat-soluble nutrients from foods that are eaten with them. Thus, eating avocados and tomatoes together can boost your intake of beta carotene of tomato.
- An avocado serving size is 50 calories (About 3 thin slices or 2 tablespoons mashed). In addition, it provides most of the vitamins and minerals.
- Avocados contain about 4 grams of protein, making them the fruit with the highest protein content! It has eighteen ready-to-use amino acids required by the body.
- Avocado is one of the cheapest anti-aging tools for your skin! Due to antioxidants, amino acids, and essential oils, it can help repair damaged hair, moisturize dry skin, treat sunburns and even minimize wrinkles.
- Antioxidant phytochemicals in avocado (such as beta-sitosterol, glutathione, and lutein) help protect against various diseases like macular degeneration and cataracts, prevent oxidative damage that has the power to change DNA and result in cell mutations.
- Phytonutrients (polyphenols and flavonoids) in avocado are anti-inflammatory compounds reducing the risk of inflammatory and degenerative disorders that can affect every part of the body including joints, the heart, brain, skin, and connective tissue.
- If you have a latex allergy, there is a possibility that you may be allergic to avocado.
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