Why Your Brain Loves Avocados!

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It was some considerable time ago that avocados leapt into the superfoods chart thanks to the impressive levels of a group of monounsaturated fats that have been shown to provide important anti-inflammatory benefits to our body systems - particularly the cardiovascular system. All manner of new and exciting superfoods have hit the charts since then (goji berries, macqui berries, watermelon seeds, chia seeds, chaga mushrooms - the list goes on) but research into the health benefits of the now-perhaps-overly-familiar avocado continues and this is extremely good news!

A recent study conducted at Tufts University found that the consumption of fresh avocado is an effective way to increase lutein levels in the eyes and brain. Lutein is an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant plant chemical which is found in fruits and vegetables and avocados are a rich source. Researchers found that one medium avocado per day increased lutein levels by 25% in the eyes and progressive improvement on tests that evaluated memory, processing speed and attention levels in the control group (40 healthy adults over the age of 50) leading to a meaningful proposal that the consumption of fresh avocado daily may lead to increased macular pigment density and improved cognitive function in healthy older adults. This study also revealed that lutein levels in the eye more than doubled in subjects that consumed fresh avocados compared to those that took a supplement.

I find myself getting somewhat distressed when people shy away from eating avocados on a regular basis believing them to be fattening because they are rich in fats - nothing could be further from the truth! Not only are they an excellent source of health-enhancing monounsaturated fats and anti-inflammatory and protective plant chemicals, they are also rich in soluble fibre which helps stabilise blood sugar levels, facilitate good digestion and bowel regularity and aid weight control, they are a good source of energy-generating B vitamins and immune-boosting vitamin C, they are rich in essential minerals like magnesium, potassium, iron and copper and they offer a worthy supply of folate for pregnant women which is crucial in the prevention of birth defects. They also have the highest protein levels and lowest sugar content of any fruit and the richness of fat makes them a filling, delicious and nutritious part of a meal or simply as a fast and fabulous snack.

Here are the links to a few of my tasty avocado recipes that offer their unique combination of nutrients and a great deal more:

Stuffed Avocado

Lemon Ginger Chicken

Soft Boiled Eggs with Sweet Potato and Avocado

Crab, Salmon, Avocado, Fennel and Apple Salad

Oh To Have Been So Misled By So Many For So Long!

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I am not alone in having a number of family members suffer the massive life-changing consequences of having a stroke. One minute, it’s all good and the next it’s totally, completely and utterly not. Within the space of just a matter of minutes, a stroke victim loses their independence, often can no longer work, in the majority of cases has to rely on others to help with their everyday needs and assist in decision-making and unless the extent of the damage to both brain and body has been severe and the stroke proves fatal within around 30 days, can only expect this tragic change to their lives to continue for a number of years.

So where did it all go so horribly wrong? Why do statistics indicate that 1 in 5 women and 1 in 6 men of 75 and over are at serious risk? Is it simply age or might diet be involved?

Rationing during WW2 meant very little in the way of fats in diets and as rationing continued until 1954, they continued to be a very occasional luxury - meat and dairy products were in short supply and when you could get them, they were expensive. So why should any housewife lucky enough to get her hands on (and on rare occasions, afford) not treat the family to a good scraping of butter on their toast or a steaming-hot dish of macaroni cheese or a deliciously-creamy trifle for pud? Things were looking up!

But, just as families were beginning to enjoy feasting on delicious and filling fats, along came the ‘fat police’, in the main, courtesy of a researcher by the name of Ancel Keyes who spent years analysing the diets of the healthiest nations in the world and determined that fats were bad for us and would make us sick and fat. His extensive (but now universally-agreed, erroneous in so very many aspects) research prompted governments and health organisations to issue warnings about our fat consumption globally and who were we to doubt the advice of ‘those in the know’?

For some reason, which remains a mystery to those who are professionally, nutritionally trained, eggs continue to be regarded as a dairy product - sorry but no, they don’t come from a milk-producing animal! However, did they come in for some bad press or what! Thanks again to Ancel Keyes, eggs were vilified for decades because they contain cholesterol and saturated fat. But the truth is that cholesterol and saturated fat in animal produce has health benefits.  There is absolutely no scientific evidence to suggest that eating cholesterol-rich foods cause our cholesterol levels to increase. It is estimated that only 20 percent of our blood cholesterol levels actually come from our diet (the rest of the cholesterol in the body is produced by the liver, which it makes because we need it for brain, hormone, nerve and immune system health) and there is no evidence that the consumption of up to six eggs per week increases our risk of heart disease.

It all started so well when eggs became more readily-available post-rationing and ‘dried eggs’ (which few got too excited about) were left to become even drier on the top shelf! "Go to work on an egg" was an advertising slogan used by the UK Egg Marketing Board during the late 1950s as part of more than £12 million spent on advertising, including a series of television advertisements starring Tony Hancock and Patricia Hayes in 1965. The proposition was that having an egg for breakfast was the best way to start the working day and it worked. In a very short space of time, eggs were the breakfast of choice in a great many households but it wasn’t to last. In 1988, the Tory health minister of the time, Edwina Currie stunned the British nation by announcing in a TV interview that “most of the egg production in this country, sadly, is now affected with salmonella”. As egg sales plummeted, the government was forced to offer a compensation package of millions of pounds to cover the cost of purchasing surplus eggs and for the slaughter of unwanted hens, the minister weathered a political storm which ultimately led to her resignation but the worst outcome of all was that eggs were largely removed from the breakfast table and all manner of starchy, sugary and health-threatening breakfast cereals took their place.

And even more frustratingly, in 2007, plans to rebroadcast the original ‘go to work on an egg’ advertisements were rejected by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre, which observed that “the adverts did not suggest a varied diet”. This was not just frustrating - it was nothing short of negligent!

So now where are we on the ‘egg front’ in 2017? Well… it appears that an egg a day is linked to a reduced risk of stroke (1). It’s likely too late for many in their 70’s and 80’s to turn back time but boy have they been tragically-misled by their governments, their health advisors and their GPs over the last 50 years!

Who is to say that if they had continued to ‘go to work on an egg’ things might have been different and the stroke statistics would look less alarming but let’s hope that the youth of today, many of whom are more than just a little bit interested in their health, think seriously about the shocking headlines they read before simply reacting to them and continue to enjoy the extraordinarily-amazing health benefits offered by one of the easiest and most nourishing little numbers to fit into their daily diet - eggs!