Avocado oil is currently considered a real superfood and is enjoying increasing popularity, especially in the USA. We followed the hype about the promising avocado oil and were amazed at how positive the oil can be for our health and what advantages it brings - also in relation to skin and hair care. In this article we would like to clarify the question of how healthy avocado oil actually is and what different uses the high-quality avocado oil offers. Before we look at how avocado oil can support us in everyday life, let's clarify the question of what exactly avocado oil is.
SUPERFOOD AVOCADO OIL – A TREND SOON IN GERMANY?
The origin of the avocado is in southern Mexico. The Aztecs were so enthusiastic about the fruit that they used avocados for a wide variety of purposes between the 14th and early 16th centuries. The healthy avocados, which belong to the berry family, grow on trees and only become soft when they are harvested. The high-quality, purely vegetable avocado oil is extracted from the flesh of the avocado. For the production of about 250 ml avocado oil you need about 15-20 fruits. Avocados are considered very healthy anyway - but avocado oil contains the important vitamins and nutrients in an even more concentrated form, which makes the oil a real superfood - and of course without any major side effects and free of any chemicals. The delicious and buttery taste makes avocado oil perfect for cooking and frying in the kitchen. The yellow-green color of the oil also gives the dishes (e.g. as a dressing for salads) that certain something visually. But the avocado oil is not only convincing in the kitchen - it is also a real silver bullet when it comes to skin and hair care. There are a lot of valuable nutrients and vitamins in the healthy avocados, which is why they are often a component of various beauty products.
In short, avocado oil is a real trend product and represents a real alternative to olive oil and the popular coconut oil. In our opinion, it lives up to the hype.
HOW HEALTHY IS AVOCADO OIL?
If you want to know how healthy avocado oil really is, you should definitely take a look at the nutritional values. The healthy oil of the avocado fruit mainly contains healthy fats, i.e. unsaturated fatty acids, which are good for the heart and circulatory system and can have an anti-inflammatory effect in the body. Avocado oil contains 70% to 80% (depending on the quality of the oil) unsaturated omega-9 fats, which help the body to lower and balance cholesterol levels. In addition, the unsaturated fatty acids contained in avocado oil improve fat metabolism and prevent heart disease. In addition, avocado oil is considered an important supplier of vitamins A, D, E and K. Avocado oil also provides our body with the necessary minerals such as magnesium and potassium. Furthermore, the avocado oil serves as a kind of catalyst, as important nutrients from vegetables and fruits can be better absorbed by the body. Incidentally, the avocado oil also supports the body in absorbing important antioxidants such as beta-carotene and lutein.
LOSE WEIGHT WITH AVOCADO OIL – DOES IT WORK?
We have just shown you that avocado oil contains many valuable and healthy nutrients. But avocado oil wouldn't be a superfood if it didn't have other aces up its sleeve. According to a US study, the oil actually has a positive effect on weight loss. Researchers at Penn State University found that people who ate about 3 tablespoons of avocado oil (or any other high-acid oil) daily for four weeks lost 1.6% of their belly fat. This is partly due to the fact that the feeling of satiety - due to the consumption of avocado oil - lasts longer and thus cravings are nipped in the bud.
HEALTH EFFECTS OF USE OF AVOCADO OIL
Now that we have clarified that the use of avocado oil can actually help to reduce belly fat, we would like to go into other uses of the oil - because not only the stomach benefits from this healthy superfood.
According to a study, avocado oil contains twice as much of the plant pigment lutein as classic olive oil. Lutein is also found in the human eye, but cannot be produced by the body itself and must therefore be ingested through food. The high proportion of lutein in avocado oil protects the eye from cataracts and age-related macular degeneration (disease of the retina).
The specialist in internal medicine, diabetology and nutritional medicine, Dr. Matthias Riedl from medicum Hamburg explained in an interview with Bild der Frau that avocado oil contains alpha-linoleic acid, which lowers blood pressure and strengthens the heart and the entire circulatory system. The high proportion of omega-3 fatty acids supports the health of the arteries and normalizes the heart rhythm. In addition, avocado oil is said to prevent diabetes and regulate cholesterol levels.
According to the specialist, avocado oil can even reduce the risk of cancer. According to the latest knowledge, the antioxidants and vitamin E contained in avocado oil have a positive effect on tumors. Antioxidants are considered “free radical scavengers” that are supposed to protect cells from oxidative stress and can thus prevent cancer.
Scientists from the Ruhr-Uni Bochum also found out that avocado oil can even prevent psoriasis. The reason is the high vitamin B12 content of avocado oil. After around twelve weeks, the inflammatory psoriasis can be noticeably improved. Since there are almost no side effects, avocado oil is also ideal for long-term therapy.
Danish scientists report that regular consumption of avocado oil can prevent joint pain. Above all, the most common form of joint inflammation, arthritis, can be greatly improved by taking avocado oil. Rheumatism attacks also occur less frequently due to the oil. At the same time, the healthy nutrients in avocado oil help repair damaged cartilage in the knees and hips.
According to studies by the Mexican University of Veracruz, avocado oil even prevents liver damage. The healthy avocado oil protects our liver from damage caused by too much sugar intake and thus protects us from fatty liver.
AVOCADO OIL IN COSMETICS
"True beauty comes from within" is a well-known saying in German-speaking countries. But this phrase could meanwhile be ascribed a completely different meaning. The reason for this is the avocado oil. Through nutrition, it provides the body with valuable vitamins and nutrients, which also have a positive effect on the complexion. The avocado oil can also be applied to the skin or hair. In the following you can read how hair and skin can benefit from the high-quality oil of the avocado.
AVOCADO OIL FOR SKIN AND FACE
If you want to take care of your skin and face naturally, you can use the popular avocado oil with a clear conscience. The vitamin E contained in avocado oil cares for the skin and at the same time protects it from the sun, i.e. from UV rays that age the skin. In addition, the high-quality avocado oil moisturizes the skin. The fatty acids in the oil penetrate the layers of the skin, making the skin velvety soft, supple and more resilient. In comparison to hand creams or body lotions, the avocado oil does leave no unpleasant layer of fat on the skin, as it is absorbed particularly well and quickly.
According to Medizinfuchs, the avocado oil also prevents the formation of wrinkles, while the nutrients contained in the oil promote and support cell growth in the skin. Here, too, the avocado oil acts as a kind of catalyst. Avocado oil contains important emulsifiers that ensure that the skin can absorb vitamins more easily. This leads to a more elastic, i.e. younger-looking, complexion.
Another great property of avocado oil is that it can reduce inflammation. For example, acne and eczema can be treated naturally. At the same time, the oil has a preventive effect and can prevent the formation of new pimples. Stressed skin can also benefit from avocado oil after a shave. The ingredients it contains have a calming effect on the skin. Simply massage the oil into the affected area over a large area. In addition, the avocado oil also helps with dry feet and hard skin. The healthy ingredients of the avocado oil provide the dry feet with enough moisture and manage to treat small cracks in the skin and calluses or to support the healing process significantly.
The avocado oil is not only ideal for skin care, but can also be used wonderfully on the face. Simply massage a few drops of the oil into your face with light pressure. Your face will thank you! Alternatively, you can use the avocado oil as a cleanser. To do this, put a few drops on a damp sponge or cotton pad, which you can then use to clean your face.
YOUR HAIR IN A NEW SHINE – THANKS TO AVOCADO OIL
The avocado oil is perfect for supporting and moisturizing the skin. But your hair can also benefit from the healthy oil. The vitamin D contained in avocado oil can counteract hair loss, while vitamin E prevents split ends. The avocado oil behaves in your hair in a similar way to the skin. It moisturizes your hair and makes dry and brittle hair supple again. At the same time, the avocado oil gives your hair a kind of protective armor and makes it more resistant to damaging environmental influences.
So that your hair can optimally absorb the valuable ingredients, you can use the avocado oil as a treatment or as a self-made hair mask. If you decide to use the hair treatment, massage the oil thoroughly into your hair and leave it on for several hours. Then wash the avocado oil out thoroughly – preferably with shampoo. This gives your hair enough time to absorb the vitamins contained in avocado oil.
Alternatively, you can mix up a hair mask made from yoghurt, honey and avocado oil. Ideally, leave it on for half an hour before washing it out thoroughly. So if you want to do something good for your hair, you should definitely try the healthy avocado oil. After a few uses, the first differences should already be clearly noticeable: more volume and healthier, stronger hair.
IN THE KITCHEN: AVOCADO OIL FOR FRYING & COOKING
The avocado oil is not only a real miracle weapon in cosmetics but also convinces in the kitchen in a wide variety of applications. You can use it either as a dressing for salads or as a topping to give dishes the finishing touch. The precious oil is particularly popular with vegans and vegetarians. Here, for example, it is a wonderful substitute for butter. The healthy avocado oil can also be used for breading - so that no egg is needed. If you're looking for great recipes to make with avocado oil, check out Springlane. As a topping, the healthy oil is perfect for tomato bruschetta. In addition to salt and pepper, a fried egg with a few drops of avocado oil can create a whole new taste experience. Hot soups, on the other hand, get a very special kick from the healthy oil.
Of course, the avocado oil is also suitable for frying or cooking your favorite dish. While the smoke point of cold-pressed sunflower oil is around 105 °C and cold-pressed olive oil is between 130-175 °C, native avocado oil has an extremely high smoke point of around 250-260 °C. Sunflower oil, for example, achieves this high value only in a refined form. During refining, the oil is made heat-resistant by hot pressing, which increases the smoke point. The big disadvantage, however, is that the extraction of refined oils also produces harmful trans fatty acids. For this reason, you are well advised to use healthy avocado oil directly, which is extremely heat-stable.
We like to use avocado oil as a salad oil or as a basis for a dip and to make delicious marinades and dressings. The gentle and slightly buttery note of the avocado oil is not so much in the foreground, which is why the aroma of the processed food is not adulterated and is therefore much more intense. By the way, a real insider tip – and incredibly delicious – is healthy oven vegetables, which you can serve wonderfully as a side dish, with avocado oil. Brush the veggies (before they go into the oven to roast) with a little avocado oil. We wish a good appetite!
BUY AVOCADO OIL: YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS
Although the healthy avocado oil is becoming increasingly popular, it is relatively rare to find it in mainstream supermarkets. We therefore recommend ordering avocado oil online. You can have it conveniently delivered to your home. Make sure that the avocado oil was cold-pressed during production - this speaks for a high quality. At the same time, the oil is significantly healthier because many important nutrients are not lost in the manufacturing process. As a rule, the label says "cold pressed" or "expeller pressed". Since we at American Heritage attach great importance to high quality, we decided to use Stonewall Kitchen avocado oil. This is cold-pressed, gluten-free and of course Non-GMO. Since avocado's healthy oil is sensitive to light, it's typically canned or packaged in amber bottles (like Stonewall Kitchen). This ensures that the healthy ingredients are not lost.
Once you have decided on an avocado oil, it only has to be stored properly. As the oil, as just mentioned, is very sensitive to light, it should be stored in a cool and dry place away from heat and light. Unopened, the avocado oil usually has a shelf life of around 24 months, i.e. two years. Once opened, the healthy oil should be used within 6 months.
OUR CONCLUSION AND A SUMMARY
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, avocado oil is becoming more and more popular. While it has already become a real superfood in the US, we expect increased demand here in the coming weeks and months. A healthy and natural diet is also very trendy in this country. Finally, we would like to give you an overview of the most important takeaways on the subject of avocado oil:
- The purely vegetable avocado oil is a real alternative to coconut and olive oil
- It contains many unsaturated fatty acids, which are good for the heart and have anti-inflammatory effects
- The body can absorb important nutrients better with the help of the oil
- Avocado oil contains the important vitamins A, E, D and K
- It protects against UV rays, moisturizes the skin and makes it soft and supple
- The vitamins contained in avocado oil strengthen the hair and provide more volume
- In vegan and vegetarian cuisine, it is used as a substitute for animal products
- Avocado oil is great in salads, sauces, marinades and dips
- Due to its high smoke point, avocado oil is ideal for frying and cooking
- When buying avocado oil, pay attention to the note "cold-pressed" and store it in a cool, dry place protected from light
WOULD YOU LIKE MORE PRODUCTS WITH AVOCADO?
In addition to the healthy avocado oil, our range also includes other delicious products with avocado from Stonewall Kitchen. The delicatessen company from Maine, USA, is known for its high-quality and delicious food products. Some of these culinary highlights (with avocados) can be found here:
