The avocado is a rather unique fruit. Yes, fruit! Most fruits are made up primarily of carbohydrate. But the avocado stands out from the crowd with its healthy fat content. Yay for healthy fats. Not to be confused with certain saturated animal fats found in butter, lard, cheese and high-fat meats like bacon. As well as some nasty plant-based fats that have been hydrogenated (chemically altered in a bad way!) like margarine, fried foods and commercially baked foods.
Back to healthy fats. They’re the goodies. Especially for your hormones, ladies. Healthy fats are the raw materials needed to keep your mood swings and intense sugar cravings at bay. Meaning they’re just what you need for proper hormone function. Healthy fats are unsaturated fats and include polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids.
Estrogen + Progesterone
Avocados contain a substance called plant sterols, which actually help to block excess estrogen absorption, as well as allowing for increased progesterone to be present. In case you’re wondering, excess estrogen can manifest as restless sleep, weight gain, changes in appetite, higher perceived stress, slowed metabolism. And low progesterone can mean symptoms such as irregular periods, sugar cravings, cold hands and feet, fatigue. The two hormones should work like yin and yang in the body. But more often than not, there’s an imbalance that throws us right off.
But how did all that estrogen get in there in there in the first place?
Exposure to toxins and pollutants in the environment have a big part to play. As well as chemical estrogens in plastics, hormones from food and toxic cleaning products. Basically just living your every day life. It’s hard to avoid really!
Avo’s are also full of fibre, potassium, magnesium, vitamin E, B-vitamins and folic acid. All essential for maintaining balance in the body.
So cheers to the avocado for doing its part!
Quick Avocado Guac Mash
1 ripe avocado
1 garlic clove
Juice of ½ lemon or lime
A spice of your choosing: e.g. cumin, paprika, coriander,
1 tbsp coconut oil
Put all in a blender and whizz up. Add some hot water if you want to make it less thick.
Smear on a slice of toast, or serve a dollop on a salad, or in a lettuce taco, or in a buddha bowl…