Health and Fitness Tip #127 - 6 Reasons To Start Cooking With Avocado Oil

6 Reasons To Start Cooking With Avocado Oil

1.  Avocado oil is ideal for high-heat cooking.

Even uber-healthy olive oil can become harmful once it reaches its smoke point, the temperature at which the oil smokes in the pan. When an oil gets to this point, the chemical structure breaks down and creates compounds like lipid oxidation products (LOP) that could compromise your health. Fortunately, avocado oil has one of the highest smoke points out there at 520 degrees Fahrenheit, making it ideal for high-heat cooking.

2. It’s loaded with vitamins and minerals

Avocado oil gives your body a healthy dose of antioxidants, which can halt free-radical damage in its tracks. This rich oil contains three times as many carotenoids as olive oil, helping your body fight off cancer and reduce the signs of aging. In addition, avocado oil contains vitamin E to boost immunity and protect your heart, eyes and more.

3. It boosts nutrient absorption

Avocado oil contains special fat-based compounds to help our bodies utilize the nutrients from other food sources. Researchers have found that just two tablespoons of avocado oil can increase carotenoid absorption in fruits and vegetables by up to 400 percent! In addition to cooking with it, you may want to use avocado oil in your next batch of homemade dressing and drizzle it over some greens for maximum effect.

4. It Can Support a Healthy Heart

Avocado oil contains a hearty amount of beta-sitosterol, which is used by our bodies to break down “bad” fats and turn them into something more beneficial. Researchers have found that food enriched with beta-sitosterol lead to a decrease in accumulated body fat in lab rats. In addition, the monounsaturated fatty acids in avocado oil help to prevent the buildup of plaque on arterial walls which are often linked to cardiovascular disease.

5. It Kills Cancer Cells

This may seem far-fetched, but researchers have found that the carotenoid content in avocados can help to inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells in vitro. And with their monounsaturated fat content, these bioactive carotenoids are more likely to be absorbed into the bloodstream. This means they can spread around the body and do their job even better. Nice!

6. It Can Stabilize Blood Pressure

If your doctor is concerned about your blood pressure, try adding avocado oil into the mix. A study published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology found that a diet rich in avocado oil changed the levels of fatty acids in the kidneys, positively impacting blood pressure.