Avocados full of Nutrients

Avocados make great dips and spreads, or can be enjoyed just as they are.People need a substantial amount of nutrients to lead healthy lifestyles. The health-conscious will be happy to know that nutrient-dense avocados provide almost 20 vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients per serving. Avocados also contain monounsaturated fats, which offer a healthful alternative to saturated fats. Nutrition organizations such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition recommend avocados as a beneficial part of a balanced diet.

Vitamin K promotes normal blood clotting.Along with vitamins A, C, D, E and the eight B vitamins, fat-soluble vitamin K is one of the 13 vitamins essential to the human body. Luckily, avocados contain more vitamin K than any other nutrient. In a single 30-gram serving, the fruit provides 6.3 micrograms of vitamin K--8 percent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) recommended daily values. Most importantly, vitamin K allows normal, healthy blood clotting and prevents calcification of the arteries. It also supports bone health, reducing the risk of fracture and helping prevent postmenopausal bone loss.


Vitamin E is one of many antioxidants contained is avocados.Per serving, avocados contain 1.2 international units of vitamin E, which is 4 percent of the FDA's recommended daily intake. This fat-soluble vitamin is an antioxidant, meaning it protects the body from unstable free radicals that can harm tissues, cells and organs. Because free radicals are associated with the aging process, vitamin E acts as an anti-aging nutrient. Likewise, it supports the appearance of healthy hair and skin, and works in conjunction with vitamin K to maintain the health of red blood cells.

Vitamin C
Like vitamin E, vitamin C acts an an antioxidant. According to the FDA, avocados offer 2.4 micrograms—4 percent of the recommended daily value--of vitamin C per serving. This water-soluble nutrient aids the body by supplementing the growth and repair of tissues and helping the formation of collagen, which aids in making skin, tissue, tendons, ligaments and blood vessels. In addition to speeding along the healing process, vitamin C assists the formation of cartilage, bones and teeth.

Lutein
With consistent intake, lutein helps prevent blindness caused by aging.Avocados are especially rich in lutein; each serving contains 81.3 micrograms of this nutrient. A natural pigment known as a carotenoid, lutein is an antioxidant that helps maintain eye health, preventing eye diseases and macular degeneration. Though the FDA doesn't provide a daily recommended amount of lutein, the organization Macular Degeneration Support recommends 20 micrograms daily. Lutein also supports healthy skin.

Avocados contain an abundance—27 micrograms, or 8 percent of the daily value—of folate per serving. This nutrient assists the body in the development of healthy cells and tissues, and also supports proper homocysteine metabolism, which regulates the body's amino acids. These amino acids construct the protein that builds and repairs body tissues.
Check with you physician before taking any of these vitamins as some vitaims interfere with certain medications.