What are the benefits of avocado that outshine their high Omega 6 (1689mg per 100 grams) to Omega 3 (110 mg per 100 grams)? Thats a ratio of 15:1. I don't want to be taking fish oil to accommodate the imbalance. How often do you eat avocado? I love avocado, but that ratio doesn't bode well.
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They're still mostly monounsaturated fat, which keeps the overall level of n-6 fairly low, even if the polyunsaturated fat ratio isn't great. Plus, they are an excellent source of potassium. I eat about one or two a week and then don't eat them for a month or so. They shouldn't be the basis of your diet, but they are definitely a good way to diversify. |
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It's because omega-6 linoleic acid from plants (such as avocado) does not convert at a high rate to arachidonic acid (aka one of the bad guys). So even though my Chipotle paleo bowl has several servings of guac in it, it is the savory and awesome carnitas that are directly contributing to my arachidonic acid (bad guy) levels, because pigs have converted linoleic acid to arachidonic acid for us. And guac is one of the only plant sources of fat, provides creamy texture, etc etc blah blah. |
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Ratio is probably not the best measure of O6. Total amount is more important. They have about 1.7g of O6, which is better than nuts, but definitely worse than tallow or butter. I don't like the texture of them, but if you do like them it probably won't hurt to eat them once in a while. I've only seen them lauded over at the MDA forums, and I think it is primarily because people have just learned that fat is ok and are really enjoying eating fatty things they previously couldn't. |
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Isn't one of the points of Paleo to eat like the cavemen (and women). I doubt they sat around the campfire wondering if the ratios were too high. Eat. Enjoy. |
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Pros for me: -They are a pretty good source of several vitamins and minerals. -They are a convenient and portable snack to throw in my bag when I am going to be out for long periods of time. -They are delicious. I use them mainly in Mexican food and salads or just plain with a spoon and a little bit of salt. I don't eat nearly as many as I used to though, not really because of the O6 issue, but because I have so many other fat sources to choose from now. Back when I was raw vegan I COVETED avocados like they were precious things made of gold, dreamed about them and would binge eat five or six at once, but that's because they were pretty much my only fat source (something that makes me sad to think about now and extra grateful every time I take a pat of butter, cook something in bacon grease or am putting bone marrow into my mouth.) |
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The main benefit that outshines their O6 content is... they're tasty! |
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The Omega 3:6 ratio is a highly overrated health obsession. Even amounts of Omega-3 that many would consider low are still amounts that could greatly improve health. Overdosing on fish oil past these modest needs could be harmful. Avocados have a good MUFA:PUFA ratio. Compare it to unhealthy oils like soybean oil and corn oil and you will see that those oils are extremely biased toward polyunsaturated fats, which are considered to have a potentially harmful effect on health, while monounsaturated fat is considered protective. |
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I eat 1/2 to 1 full avacado a day. I get them free at work, and they go great in my mega salad of doom I have every day with my 12-16 oz of dead flesh. Is this screwing me up on paleo? |
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I've looked at my calorie sheet. I've discovered that the 2 biggest sources of omega 6 FAs are avocados and EVOO. I eat about 1-2 avocados and 3 tbsps of EVOO everyday. The PUFAs from those 2 make up the majority of the PUFAs I consume everyday. Should I cut back? Well ... I don't think so. Mabe cut my EVOO to 1 tbsp per day. But the avocados ... they seem pretty healthy. |
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you all worry too much. i take my diet seriously but if you look up facts on every food item you can find something negative about it. |
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For whatever reason, I get negative symptoms from avocados--chapped lips, dry skin on forehead and scalp, dental crud, etc., whereas berries and fresh figs don't give me as much problems and raw fermented honey actually undoes the damage that avocados create for me (healing the dry skin and chapped lips). So, rather than avocados being "definitely" healthy for all, it may depend on the individual. |
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It's funny that I owned a weight loss business a few years ago and at the time it was said that the omega 6 in avocado's actually promoted weight loss by helping your body with the way it was processing certain types of food. I don't know one person that got fat off of an avocado but I think the problem is that we are looking at all foods that carry an omega-6, which a lot of them aren't healthy, and then contributing the weight gain to the ratio. It's important to take a look at the food itself to determine whether or not it is bad for you, avocados are not bad for you, an over consumption of them could be but an over consumption of anything could be. Check out my blog kellibaresall.com for more nutritional info... |
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There is no perfect food. Obsessing over avocado's n6:n3 ratio while ignoring the rest = foolish. |
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