Guacamole is a Mexican dish prepared using mashed avocados and a small amount of seasonings such as lime juice, lemon juice, onion, chili powder, cilantro, and tomatoes. All these ingredients make guacamole quite beneficial for your health. Avocados alone are capable of offering several health benefits. You can enjoy it in different ways to get its health benefits – you can serve it with tortilla chips or have it as a side dish. Guacamole is popular but it has calories, and that makes many people ask, "Is it good for you?" Come find out more about it.
Is Guacamole Good for You?
Yes, it is. Snacking on guacamole lowers your risk of developing cancer and also improves your cardiovascular health. It also contains fiber, fats, and antioxidants, the combination of which helps lower your cholesterol and reduce risk of stroke and heart attack. Due to its fiber content, it makes you feel full quickly and keeps you full longer. This prevents hunger pangs and helps you with weight management. You just need to be a bit careful about your portion size to enjoy maximum benefits of guacamole.
Why Is Guacamole Good For You?
The benefits associated with guacamole come from the ingredients it has. Here is more about it.
1. Healthy Fats
Guacamole has healthy fats mainly because of avocados. Eating guacamole will prevent hunger pangs between meals by keeping you full for long. You get about 91 calories with 8g of fat in one-quarter cup of guacamole. Out of 8g of fat, 5.6g is monounsaturated fat, which lowers cholesterol and promotes better cardiovascular health.
2. Fiber
Women need 21-25g of fiber a day, whereas men require 30-38g of fiber per day. Guacamole provides you with 11-19% of your recommended daily intake of fiber. In one-quarter cup of guacamole, there are 4 grams of dietary fiber, which help keep you full and cut calories for better weight management. Fiber also improves digestion and prevents constipation as well. Being on high fiber diet also helps control blood sugar and may even lower cholesterol.
3. Antioxidant
Guacamole provides you with antioxidants because avocados are a great source of phytochemicals, which also work as antioxidants. These compounds prevent chronic disease by eliminating free radicals from your body. Avocados are also a rich source of carotenoid phytochemicals called beta-carotene, zeaxanthin, and lutein. Both zeaxanthin and lutein are good for your eyes, whereas beta-carotene plays a big role in improving your immune system.
4. Vitamin K
Is guacamole good for you? Yes, it is, and one reason is that it contains vitamin K, which is essential for blood clotting. It also makes it possible for your body to absorb calcium to prevent disorders such as osteoporosis. You get about 42.2mcg of vitamin K from one avocado, which equals 35% of your recommended daily intake.
5. Vitamin A
Just like vitamin K, avocados are a rich source of vitamin A as well. You get about 293IU of vitamin K from one avocado, which provides you with 10% of your recommended daily intake of vitamin A. You need vitamin A for better eye health – it helps prevent night blindness and other eye related problems. It also helps eliminate free radicals from your body and offers some protection against cancer.
6. Oleic Acid
Guacamole provides you with a type of fatty acid called oleic acid, which plays a big role in lowering LDL cholesterol. An increase in the levels of LDL cholesterol contributes to arterial blockages and leads to heart attack and stroke. Oleic acid helps improve circulation by clearing lipids from arterial walls.
How to Make Guacamole Perfectly
Now that you know the answer to your question, "Is guacamole good for you?" you may want to know how to make guacamole perfectly. Here are a few things to bear in mind.
1. Use Ripe Avocados
The quality of avocados will play a big role in determining the quality of guacamole. A ripe Hass avocado will give slightly when you press it lightly. Its skin will also turn to black when it is ripe. Get some ripe avocados and store them in the refrigerator for a few days before making guacamole. Storing avocados with an apple or a banana wrapped in a brown paper will also help accelerate the ripening process.
2. 
Be Bold with Garlic and Onion
Add finely chopped onion and garlic to make guacamole perfectly. You can also experiment with roasted garlic, which adds a sweet earthiness to it. You should use two cloves of roasted garlic for every finely chopped clove of raw garlic.
3. 
Use Fresh Limes and Cilantro
Use a whole lime when making guacamole along with chopped cilantro to give it a rich taste. Using fresh lime juice is a great idea because it affects the oxidation process and keeps your guacamole from changing its color to brown.
4. Buy Stuff from Supermarket
You can always find some nice stuff in the supermarket to make guacamole in a short time. You can simply add a couple of spoons of jarred salsa to make guacamole because it has all the add-ins of the traditional guacamole. You can also use a package of premashed avocado to make your guacamole in less than 5 minutes.
A Sample Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 garlic cloves, large and unpeeled
- 6 medium avocados (ripe)
- Half cup of fresh cilantro (coarsely chopped)
- A teaspoon of salt
- 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice
Garnishes
- ¾ cup of toasted pumpkin seeds
- ¾ cup of Mexican queso fresco, salted pressed farmer's cheese
- ¾ cup of pickled jalapenos (sliced)
- Half cup of crumbled crisp-fried bacon
- 1 16-ounce bag of tortilla chips
Instructions
- To make guacamole, start by cooking unpeeled garlic in a dry skillet. Turn it occasionally and cook for 10-15 minutes.
- Let it cool off and then slip off the skins. Put avocado flesh into a large bowl and add the cilantro, garlic, and lime juice to it. Mash it well.
- Use salt for seasoning and put it in a serving bowl. Use a plastic wrap to cover it and place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- You can also set up the guacamole bar by scooping garnishes into small bowls and putting the chips in a large bowl.