This is Why Avocado Toast Was The Top Trendy Breakfast In 2017
It still is one of the hottest health food trends.
Avocado toast may have started around in the early 1990s when a chef started slathering avocado onto toast and adding it to his menu. Other chefs soon followed suit.
Avocado toast has become a breakfast trend with it ranking as the top trendy breakfast option in 2017. The popularity of this breakfast increased by more than 50% and has also appeared in almost 534,000 Instagram posts.
Fortunately, avocado toast is a very healthy breakfast mainly because of the avocado that is slathered on top of it.
Here are some of the benefits of avocados and why it makes avocado toast so healthy:
Avocados are incredibly nutritious.
Nutritional profile of avocados (100-gram serving):
- Folate: 20% of the DV
- Vitamin K: 26% of the DV
- Potassium: 14% of the DV
- Vitamin C: 17% of the DV
- Vitamin E: 10% of the DV
- Vitamin B6: 13% of the DV
With such a vast and a diverse nutritional profile, avocados are incredibly healthy that can help meet the nutritional requirements and demands of the body.
They are low in saturated fat but high in healthy fats which contribute to the health benefits of this amazing fruit.
They also contain a wide variety of nutrients and antioxidants which can help keep the immune system strong and updated.
Avocado is high in monounsaturated fatty acids.
Avocado is high in fat with it consisting of around 73% water, 15% fat, and 8.5% carbs.
Additionally, 77% of the almost 200–300 calories in one whole avocado are from fat which makes it one of the fattiest plant foods even more than most animal foods.
Don’t worry because avocado is high in a type of fat called monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA). MUFA is an unsaturated fat that is a good fat and not the bad fats like saturated and trans fats.
Consuming adequate MUFAs has been associated with a lower risk of heart disease. It can lead to a reduction mainly because it helps lower total and LDL cholesterol levels.
A reduction in these levels can help prevent the accumulation of LDL cholesterol alongside arterial walls which over time can lead to atherosclerosis and a heart attack if left to accumulate over a long period of time.
The main MUFA in avocado is oleic acid which is also a major component of olive oil. Oleic acid is also particularly known for lowering cholesterol and reducing inflammation.
Avocados can help reduce the risk of heart disease.
While it was already mentioned that avocados can help reduce the risk of heart disease, I wanted to talk about the different types of fatty acids.
There are mainly four types of fatty acids which are saturated, monounsaturated (MUFA), polyunsaturated (PUFA), and trans fats.
Saturated and trans fats are considered “bad” fats because saturated fats raise HDL (good) cholesterol & LDL (bad) cholesterol.
Trans fats lower HDL (good) cholesterol & raise LDL (bad) cholesterol.
Monounsaturated fats contain one double bond in their structure while polyunsaturated fats contain two or more double bonds in their structure. Both of these fats are good for health and can reduce the risk of heart disease.
LDL cholesterol is considered to be “bad” mainly because it can accumulate alongside arterial vessels which can lead to a buildup of plaque called atherosclerosis and thus increase the risk of a heart attack.
HDL cholesterol is “good” cholesterol because it removes and carries cholesterol from your bloodstream back to the liver.
MUFA & PUFA are “good” fats because they lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease.
One study showed that eating one avocado a day can lead to fewer small, dense LDL particles while also reducing LDL particles that have been oxidized.
Avocado is rich in fiber.
First of all, there are two types of fiber: soluble & insoluble.
Soluble fiber easily dissolves in water and gets broken down into a type of gel in the colon. Soluble fiber helps improve digestion and lowers blood sugar.
Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water and can help soften stool making it easier to pass while preventing constipation.
Soluble fiber slows down how quickly food is digested while insoluble fiber fills up space in the intestines which both contribute to satiety or the sensation of being full.
A 100-gram serving of avocado packs in around 7 grams of fiber which represents around 27% of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA)
Because avocado is rich in fiber, it helps one feel full and satisfied if consumed in the morning preferably with toast.
Avocados are particularly high in antioxidants related to eye health.
Avocados are high in lutein and zeaxanthin both of which are yellow carotenoid antioxidants that are particularly concentrated in the central part of the retina known as the macula.
Adequate consumption of these two antioxidants can help reduce the risk of eye diseases such as macular degeneration and cataracts.
Additionally, avocados rank number one for vitamin E, glutathione, lutein, and beta-sitosterol. Most of these function as antioxidants and help reduce inflammatory / oxidative stress in the body.
Different variations of avocado toast
There are so many different variations of avocado toast that can make it even more healthy.
Some people like to put fried eggs on top of their avocado toast while others choose to put vegetables like cilantros, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.
There are different ways to make avocado toast but the most common way is:
1. Toast 2 slices of bread until they become golden or firm
2. Cut avocado in half, remove the pit, place the flesh in a bowl, and mash it
3. Slather the mashed avocado onto your toast
4. Top it off with a bit of salt, cilantro, tomatoes, vegetables, etc.
5. You can even place a fried egg on top of the avocado toast for protein
All in all, avocado toast is an extremely popular breakfast and for good reason. It is incredibly nutritious with a ton of health benefits, is tasty, and is easy to make with minimal ingredients.
You just read another post from In Fitness And In Health: a health and fitness community dedicated to sharing knowledge, lessons, and suggestions to living happier, healthier lives.
If you’d like to join our newsletter and receive more stories like this one, tap here.
