Patriot Health Digest
Whether you cannot imagine eating chips or crudités without some guacamole by your side or you love to add sliced avocado along with your toast in the morning, there is no denying that avocado is among the most delicious fruit.
While many avocado supporters might recognize the fruit’s high fat amount makes it very satisfying, even more so than an apple or plum, there is a surprising side effect of consuming avocados even the biggest fans of the fruit might not know about: as a great source of potassium, avocado might help soothe your muscle pain.
“Avocados have more potassium than bananas do, which can help solve your muscle cramps,” says Lindsay Wengler, MS, RD, CDN, CNSC, a registered dietitian in NY City.
In fact, in one banana, you will get 422 mgs of potassium, while in an avocado, you will get 690 mgs of this essential mineral.
A medium-sized avocado also has around 12 mgs of vitamin C, which has also been connected to a lowering in muscle pain. According to a randomized study published inside the Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, within a group of 18 healthy men given a placebo or vitamin C and then asked to do some exercises until the feel muscle soreness, those who took vitamin C had greatly lowered muscle soreness in the initial 24 hours after the completion of the exercises.
But it gets better. Eating avocados can make you feel better after a workout in other ways too.
In a 2020 article released in Scientific Reports, among 12 healthy adults, eating an avocado pulp significantly decreased their systolic blood pressure recovery time after exercise, and lowered their heart rate recovery time by half when compared to the placebo group.
However, while avocados might be a boost to your workouts, they are still high in fat and calories, so if you are trying to shed the pounds, you might want to limit yourself to one serving every day or so to enjoy their tasty benefits. You might try adding them to toast in the morning for an extra kick to your morning meal.
Author: Steven Sinclaire
