As you approach and pass 40 hormonal changes can cause your metabolism to slow down to what can feel like a crawl.
That means even if you follow a healthy diet and you exercise it might not be enough to keep your weight from creeping up.
And if you’re like a lot of us and you don’t always get the exercise you need… or you eat-on-the-go more often than you’d like… you could suddenly start paying the price with that dreaded “middle age” spread.
Some unlucky folks start to see the slowdown earlier than others.
But it’s not all bad news. There’s a ridiculously simple diet hack you can make that could lend your metabolism just the boost it needs to help you shed the spare tire and KEEP the weight off.
Believe it or not adding this one ugly fruit—available in your local supermarket—to your daily routine could make a dramatic difference.
It won’t give you an instant six pack of course. But it could kickstart your stalled weight loss and keep the numbers on your scale from going in the wrong direction.
Supercharge your sluggish metabolism with avocado!
Once shunned as having “too much fat,” the avocado is finally starting to make a much-deserved comeback.
A basic misunderstanding of fat… “good” versus “bad”… has scared many folks into kicking avocados off their menu.
And that’s a crying shame because this delicious fruit is actually a triple threat when it comes to BURNING fat.
Rich in monounsaturated fats, avocados are one of those rare foods that can really claim to be fat-melting. Because when you eat an avocado researchers believe it increases your body’s ability to burn off calories and fat.
A diet high in monounsaturated fat provides a natural energy boost that’s been proven to increase physical activity and bump up post meal metabolism, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.1
That’s not all, when avocados are eaten as part of a well-balanced diet they help to slow down the release of sugar into your bloodstream which, in turn, slows down the production of insulin. Insulin is the troublesome hormone that simultaneously drives your body to store energy as fat and hampers it from burning that stored energy.
But the humble avocado could help change that.
Feel full and satisfied so you eat less
And those same monounsaturated fats will help you feel full longer, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
That means, of course, you’re far less likely to overeat or reach for sugary, carb-filled, empty-calorie junk foods.
In fact, according to researchers from the Department of Nutrition at Loma Linda University in California, the monounsaturated fats you’d get from eating just half an avocado with your meal could send your desire to eat plunging up to 40 percent.2
Goodbye cravings and hello weight loss!
Go from spare tire to barely a bulge
But wait, were not done yet. According to research published in the journal Diabetes Care a diet rich in monounsaturated fats helps prevent “central body fat distribution.”3
Translation?
Avocados could be your own secret weapon for fighting off belly fat…. A.K.A. that dreaded muffin top… we all hate so much.
But monounsaturated fats aren’t the only secret weapon the avocado is hiding underneath that ugly green skin. They’re also rich in oleic fatty acids, which, it turns out, target belly blubber too.
A Penn University study revealed that eating a diet rich in oleic fatty acids can reduce your belly. Volunteers who ate about 3 tablespoons of a high oleic oil like avocado oil daily for four weeks, lost significantly more around the middle than did another group getting a blended oil.4
Fight off free radicals & free up your metabolism
You’ve probably heard of free radicals before. They’re the unwelcome byproduct of metabolism.
These wandering rogue oxygen molecules bash around inside your body stealing electrons from healthy cells leading to DNA and cell damage right down to the mitochondria the center of most cells energy production.
The result is a hampered metabolism that’s left limping along.
Eating lots of fresh fruits and veggies can help reverse some of the free radical damage, but in the case of most produce-aisle staples their helping hand doesn’t reach all the way to the mitochondria.
But avocados—and other foods rich in those monounsaturated fats we’ve talked so much about—are different. According to researchers out of Mexico monounsaturated oils such as avocado oil and olive oil can help your mitochondria survive free-radical attacks helping to keep your metabolism purring along (not to mention fight cancer at the same time).
Bloodsugar balancing act
It’s not just fats that the avocado brings to the table, of course.
They’re also bursting with a virtual bucket load of other important nutrients such as fiber and a long list of vitamins and minerals including vitamin K.
You may not be familiar with vitamin K. It’s not one of those vitamins that tends to get a lot of press. But that doesn’t make it any less important.
In fact, vitamin K is an essential element in blood-sugar metabolism and the production of insulin, the hormone we touched on earlier.
Vitamin K is so important that folks who get the most have a 19 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who get the least, according to a study published in the journal Diabetes Care.
You can stock up on 66 percent of your daily vitamin K requirements simply by eating one avocado a day.
Cholesterol controlling side benefits seal the deal
Ironically everyone who’s been avoiding avocados for years out of fear of what the fat content would do to their heart health were likely doing a lot more harm than good.
It turns out that avocados are real heroes when it comes to controlling low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or so-called “bad,” cholesterol.
In one study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, folks on a moderate fat diet that included one avocado a day saw their LDL plummet by 13.5 mg/dl.
It was a FAR greater drop than any of the other non-avocado eating dieters in the study, and a big enough reduction to SIGNIFICANTLY reduce their risk of heart disease
Embrace the avocado (AND the fat)
The bottom line is studies show that people who make monounsaturated fats—such as the kind you find in avocado—add up to 30 percent of their diet lose MORE weight than those going the low-fat route.
Try adding it to salads, sandwiches, soups and even just eating it straight up with a dash of sea salt. And try using deliciously nutty organic olive oil instead of other oils to make some of your meals. It has a higher smoking point than olive oil so it makes a great substitute when the heat’s a bit too high for olive oil to handle.
It’s time to let go of those outdated fat fears and embrace the fat and the ugly avocado.
References:
1. “Substituting dietary monounsaturated fat for saturated fat is associated with increased daily physical activity and resting energy expenditure and with changes in mood,” Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Apr; 97(4): 689–697.
2. “Monounsaturated Fat–Rich Diet Prevents Central Body Fat Distribution and Decreases Postprandial Adiponectin Expression Induced by a Carbohydrate-Rich Diet in Insulin-Resistant Subjects,” Diabetes Care July 2007 vol. 30 no. 7 1717-1723
3. “A randomized 3×3 crossover study to evaluate the effect of Hass avocado intake on post-ingestive satiety, glucose and insulin levels, and subsequent energy intake in overweight adults,” Nutr J. 2013 Nov 27;12:155.
4. “Monounsaturated fats reduce metabolic syndrome risk,” Penn State News, news.psu.edu
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Half an avocado is approx. 15 grams of fat. The standard for fat has been set unnaturally high. I have found my own max is 22 grams daily. Everyone is different…but I tend to agree with Doug Graham, D.C. who wrote The 80-10-10 Diet. He is an active man in his mid sixties.. For many years I could not handle any fat at all…I had compromised my liver by ingesting too many nuts, seeds, salad dressings. I had to lay off all fat for 2 years, before I was able to add any fat into my diet again. I use 1/2 an avocado…not more in order to avoid the migraines I had for 30 years.
The article on Avocado is sensational!!
I am forwarding it to my other family members for a must-read.
In India, few knows about Avocados and their qualities, may be it will be quite costly also for a daily feed.Let me see.
I shall definitely go for it,to get the experience.
Many thanks.
Dipak Bhattacharya / Delhi
Hi Dipak,
Thanks so much for your comment. It made our day!
We love avocados around here too!
–The Healthier Talk Team