How much fat is in an avocado?

[Janet]

I really like avocado and I've heard that it's a really nutritious fruit with a lot of health benefits. I've even heard it's good for weight loss. That said, I've also heard it's high in fat. Is this true? How high is high? Is it ok to eat one a day or every other day? I just don't want to over do it.

[Bean]

In a medium sized avocado (about 150 grams), there's about 240 calories and about 22 grams of fat. But that's only the numbers that sound bad. They're really good fats and they have lots of omegas in them, so this is just the kind of fat that you DO need in your diet. Good fats help you to burn stored fat off your body, maintain good brain health and good heart health. So you probably shouldn't eat one every single day but you can eat them very regularly and you'll do yourself good.

[Janet]

Awesome! Thanks Bean! That's exactly what I wanted to know

[TinaDancer]

Just be really careful. Even though they have a lot of nutrients and a lot of good fats, they can eat up your daily calorie intake really fast. So they're great and all, but be careful how much you eat or you'll find that you can't eat much of anything else in a day.

[Bean]

It's true. But remember that you don't need to sit down and eat a whole avocado. If you make it into guacamole or an avocado mayo then you only eat a bit of it. So you don't need to cut it out of your diet too much. Stretch it over three or four days and you won't have calorie issues.