Avocados: The Nutrient All-Star
Avocados are nutrient all-stars. They’re packed with nearly 20 vitamins and minerals (that’s right 20!), including folate, fiber, potassium, heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, and antioxidants. These nutrients are essential for everyone, no matter your age, but they are especially important for women who are pregnant or trying to conceive. Here are the top benefits of avocados for each life stage.
Avocados: The Nutrient All-Star
Written by: Jessica Diamond, MPH, RDN
We’re major fans of avocados over here at Meaning Full Living! Hayley’s guacamole is a family favorite (recipe linked here!), and Jess recommends slices of avocado rolled in nutritional yeast as a first food for babies who are just learning to eat with their fingers. We love avocados so much that we even worked them into our brand design!
Avocados are nutrient all-stars. They’re packed with nearly 20 vitamins and minerals (that’s right 20!), including folate, fiber, potassium, heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, and antioxidants. These nutrients are essential for everyone, no matter your age, but they are especially important for women who are pregnant or trying to conceive. Here are the top benefits of avocados for each life stage:
Babies & Children – Babies and children need these nutrient-dense fruits for growth and development.
Our favorite kid tip: when giving babies avocado, roll avocado slices in nutritional yeast or ground flax seeds to help their little hands grab on without the avocado slipping away. Fortified nutritional yeast gives the avocado even more of a nutrient boost by adding more B vitamins and protein.
Fertility – Avocados boost fertility. They are loaded with monounsaturated fatty acids and other vitamins and minerals that have been associated with decreased rates of infertility and improved IVF success.
Pregnancy & Lactation – Women are always told what not to have when pregnant and lactating, but we’re here to tell you what you can have: avocados! They are unique among fruits and vegetables because they contain much higher amounts of key nutrients, like folate and potassium, which are normally under-consumed during pregnancy and lactation. Nutrients found in avocados have been linked to improved maternal health, birth outcomes, and breastmilk quality.
Adults – In addition to a bunch of vitamins and minerals, avocados are filled with fiber and antioxidants that are generally under-consumed by adults and needed for overall health and well-being.
Basically, what we are saying is: add avocado to your and your child’s meals whenever you can! Here’s a link to our favorite smoothie made with avocado, and check out these summer fudge popsicles, which get their creaminess from this all-star fruit.