—Darren M.*, Drexel University, Pennsylvania
Yes and yes. Avocados provide many nutrients essential for your health.
One cup of diced avocado contains roughly:
- 40% of the recommended daily value (%DV) for fiber
- 30% of the %DV for folate (Vitamin B9)
- 25% of the %DV for Vitamin C
- 20% of the %DV for Vitamin B6 and potassium
- 15% of the %DV for Vitamin E
These are good nutrient density values. Avocados offer other nutrients in smaller quantities. Avocados are high in fat content, mainly coming from monounsaturated fats. This is a better type of fat, like what’s found in olive oil.
Avocado vs. pineapple
Because of their fat content, avocados are higher in calories than other fruit. For example, one cup of diced avocado has 240 calories compared to one cup of raw pineapple at 83 calories. Is that bad? Not really. Here’s why:
- Avocados and pineapples are both healthy fruit choices. However, ounce for ounce, the avocado provides more B vitamins, Vitamin E, fiber, and mineral content than pineapple provides.
- You would have to eat 2–3 times as much pineapple to get a similar amount of the nutrients that are so richly available in avocados.
We could compare the avocado to other fruits, with similar results, but the fact is that avocados are healthy. And yes, they are also high in fat (and vitamins and minerals). Enjoy them as part of a healthy eating lifestyle.
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