Interested in trying our FREE avocado and banana smoothie-day healthy diet plan? The popularity of avocado is down to its rich, creamy texture and mild flavour. There are dozens of varieties of avocado, ranging in size, colour and texture.

What are the top 5 health benefits of avocado? Avocados are an excellent source of monounsaturated fat and vitamin E, and are a good source of folate. They also supply more soluble fibre than other fruit and contain a number of useful minerals including iron, copper and potassium. These unsaturated fats are recommended as part of a balanced diet to help manage cholesterol. However, an interesting study has shown that the fat and fibre content of avocados leads to feelings of satiety which helps to regulate appetite. Some sensitive individuals may experience allergy to avocado.

This includes an oral allergy which may be triggered by a cross-reaction to birch pollen. Avocado, along with fruits including apples, peaches, raspberries and blueberries, contain natural chemicals called salicylates. Some people are sensitive to these compounds and may experience an allergic reaction including skin rashes and swelling. If you are concerned about food allergies or have any other concerns, please consult your GP or registered dietitian for guidance. Association for Nutrition with a specialism in public health.

If you have any concerns about your general health, you should contact your local health care provider. See our website terms and conditions for more information. This website is published by Immediate Media Company Limited under licence from BBC Studios Distribution. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. This article is about the tree and fruit.

Avocado Hass – single and halved. It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. The fruit of domestic varieties have smooth, buttery, golden-green flesh when ripe. Depending on the cultivar, avocados have green, brown, purplish, or black skin, and may be pear-shaped, egg-shaped, or spherical. For commercial purposes the fruits are picked while immature and ripened after harvesting. In major production regions like Chile, Mexico and California the water demands of avocado farms place strain on local sources.

Panicles of flowers with deciduous bracts arise from new growth or the axils of leaves. The species is variable because of selection pressure by humans to produce larger, fleshier fruits with a thinner exocarp. The earliest residents of northern coastal Peru were living in temporary camps in an ancient wetland and eating avocados, along with chilies, mollusks, sharks, birds, and sea lions. The oldest discovery of an avocado pit comes from Coxcatlan Cave, dating from around 9,000 to 10,000 years ago.

The native, undomesticated variety is known as a criollo, and is small, with dark black skin, and contains a large seed. It probably coevolved with extinct megafauna. The avocado tree also has a long history of cultivation in Central and South America, likely beginning as early as 5,000 BC. A water jar shaped like an avocado, dating to AD 900, was discovered in the pre-Incan city of Chan Chan. 1519 in his book, Suma De Geographia Que Trata De Todas Las Partidas Y Provincias Del Mundo. The first written record in English of the use of the word ‘avocado’ was by Hans Sloane, who coined the term, in a 1696 index of Jamaican plants.