Avocado - Health Benefits

 

AVOCADO

Overview

Avocado is a tree. The fruit, a popular food, is a good source of potassium and healthy fats. The fruit, leaves, and seeds are sometimes used to make medicine. The oil from the fruit is also used as a medicine.

Avocado is used for high cholesterol, psoriasis, arthritis, sexual desire, obesity, and many other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.

Be careful not to confuse avocado with avocado soy unsaponifiables.

Uses & Effectiveness

• High cholesterol. Eating a diet enriched with avocado seems to lower "bad" low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and increase "good" high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.
  
  
• Scaly, itchy skin (psoriasis). Early research shows that applying a specific cream containing avocado oil and vitamin B12 to the skin for 12 weeks reduces symptoms of psoriasis as effectively as a conventional medication called calcipotriol ointment. The avocado combination cream also causes less irritation than calcipotriol.
• Obesity. Early research shows that eating half an avocado with lunch might decrease hunger 3-5 hours later. It's not known if this helps with weight loss.
• Diarrhea.
• Healing wounds.
• Promoting hair growth.
• Sclerosis.
• Stimulating menstrual flow.
• Toothache.