The Avocado!

The avocado (Persea gratissima or P. americana) gets its name from the Latin American Nahuatl ahuacatl meaning "testicle," referring to its shape. The Spanish explorers could not pronouce ahuacatl, the Aztecs name for avocados, so called it aguacate. This is the origin of the word guacamole, the Aztec avocado sauce called ahuaca-hulli.

The avocado is widely considered a vegetable, since it is commonly used in salads. However, it is actually a fruit that tastes like a vegetable, and most markets display it with other typical fruits. West Indian type avocados produce enormous, smooth round, glossy green fruits that are low in oil and weigh up to 2 pounds. Guatemalan types produce medium ovoid or pear-shaped, pebbled green fruits that turn blackish-green when ripe. The fruit of Mexican varieties are small (6 - 10 ounces) with paper-thin skins that turn glossy green or black when ripe. The flesh of avocados is deep green near the skin, becoming yellowish nearer the single large, inedible ovoid seed. The flesh is hard when harvested but softens to a buttery texture. Mexico is the world's top producer of avocados, with California coming in second.

Avocados can not only be tossed in salads, but are also used alongside a variety of breads, desserts, main dishes and non-culinary creams. They are exceptionally great for exfoliating masks and for facials and body massages. Some people eat avocados with milk and sugar, some mix them with milk, with cassava flour (farine or farina), coffee and rum for a cold libation, and even some others puree them with sugar and milk to make a dessert drink. There are hundreds of varieties of avocados, but most cooks develop a preference for a particular breed. The Haas avocado is a particular favorite with many chefs.

Avocados have the highest protein content of any fruit and contain more potassium than bananas. Some benefits of eating Avocado include;
Cancer Prevention: Avocados have been shown to inhibit the growth of prostate cancer. Research has shown that certain compounds in avocados are able to seek out pre-cancerous and cancerous oral cancer cells and destroy them without harming healthy cells. Avocado oil, like olive oil, is high in oleic acid, which has been shown to prevent breast cancer in numerous studies. Avocados are an excellent source of glutathione, an important antioxidant that researchers say is important in preventing aging, cancer, and heart disease.
Eye Health: One avocado contains 81 mcg of the carotenoid lutein, more than any other commonly consumed fruit. Lutein protects against macular degeneration and cataracts, two disabling age-related eye diseases. Lower Cholesterol: Avocados are high in beta-sitosterol, a compound that has been shown to lower cholesterol levels. In one study, 45 volunteers experienced an average drop in cholesterol of 17% after eating avocados for only one week.
Heart Health: One cup of avocado has 23% of the recommended daily value of folate. Studies show that people who eat diets rich in folate have a much lower incidence of heart disease than those who don't. Avocados are the best fruit source of vitamin E, an essential vitamin that protects against many diseases and helps maintains overall health . The vitamin E, monounsaturated fats, and glutathione in avocado are great for your heart. The high levels of folate in avocado are also protective against strokes. People who eat diets rich in folate have a much lower risk of stroke than those who don't.
Better Nutrient Absorption: Research has found that certain nutrients are absorbed better when eaten with avocado. In one study, when participants ate a salad containing avocados, they absorbed five times the amount of carotenoids (a group of nutrients that includes lycopene and beta carotene) than those who didn't include avocados.

Particular health benefits of extra virgin cold pressed avocado oil:

High in monosaturates, the oil content of avocados is second only to olives among fruits, and sometimes greater.
Avocado oil has one of the highest levels of heart-healthy mono-unsaturated fats (compared with other oils).
It contains up to 4 times more beta-sitosterol than olive oil which helps lower cholesterol and has high levels of alpha-and beta-carotene, which protect against heart disease and cancer.
It is an excellent source (up to 4 times more than olive oil) of lutein, which helps protect against macular degeneration and blindness.
It has high in vitamin E and lycopine, which has been shown to lower the risk of developing prostate cancer.
Ohio State University study showed that avocado oil significantly increases the body’s absorption of heart-healthy and cancer-fighting nutrients from salads and vegetables, such as alpha-carotene(9X), beta-carotene(17X), lycopine(4X and lutein(6X)

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