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Are the fats in avocado and nuts healthy?
I thought avocado and nuts can cause weight gain in people who eat them but you recently tweeted that this is not true. Please explain. — Lisa
Dear Lisa,
The two types of useful fat are called monounsaturated and omega-3. These help to reduce inflammation, improve metabolism, reduce the risk for clots, help improve blood flow, regulate blood pressure, blood sugar and blood cholesterol levels and are also good for brain health and immunity.
The type of fat in avocado is the monounsaturated fat and most nuts are high in omega-3 fats.
So, these two foods are actually good for health and metabolism. They have actually been shown to help with weight loss and not cause it.
But fat also helps to keep you satisfied longer and, therefore, linked to eating less not more. If you eat even one handful of nuts, you will realise that your appetite or hunger for food will reduce.
That said, just like with any food, we need to eat foods high in fat in moderation. Having one to two handful of nuts each day and up to about a quarter to a half an avocado each day will boost your health.