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Low-Carb Avocado and Cocoa Smoothie Recipe – Avocados are a healthy food for women when consumed in moderation. This fruit is packed with vitamins and beneficial fats that boost your overall health. Avocados are easy to add to salads and sandwiches or to use as a spread instead of butter. Talk to your doctor about the health benefits of avocados before changing your diet.
Benefits of avocado
Vitamin B6 and Brain Power
Avocados contain vitamin B6, which is an important vitamin for women. It’s safest to get this vitamin through your diet, as supplements are toxic in very high doses. It’s important to eat foods with B6 regularly. A lack of this vitamin can often lead to anemia. This vitamin also keeps your brain functioning optimally, notes the Portland State University Women’s Resource Center.
Calcium and Vitamins
One avocado has 2 milligrams of vitamin E, 9 milligrams of vitamin C and 13 milligrams of calcium, notes New York University's Langone Medical Center. The calcium in avocados helps women maintain strong bones. Eating this fruit is an easy way to add a wide range of vitamins and minerals to your diet.
Magnesium boosts immunity
Eating avocados also helps replenish magnesium in your body. A half-cup serving of avocados has 35 milligrams of magnesium. This mineral helps women maintain a strong immune system. Magnesium also helps keep bones strong, notes the Office of Dietary Supplements at the National Institutes of Health.
Potassium for muscle strength
Avocados provide a healthy dose of potassium to your diet. One avocado has 507 milligrams of potassium. Potassium helps your muscles perform at their best, notes New York University Langone Medical Center. So, healthy avocados help women maintain their ability to participate in physical and daily activities.
Reduces Inflammation
Avocados contain healthy monounsaturated fats. This type of fat helps limit inflammation in your body, notes the Harvard School of Public Health. It also works to keep your heart healthy and lower your cholesterol levels. Eating a salad with avocado slices is a healthier dinner option than eating red meat.
A fruit with fiber
Eating an avocado to add fiber to your diet helps your body maintain regular bowel movements. The fiber in avocados also allows your body to effectively use sugars. Each avocado has 7 grams of fiber, notes New York University Langone Medical Center.
Healthy Benefits of Cocoa
Cocoa is one of the superfoods that contains a very high content of polyphenols, which are a group of antioxidants that protect our cells by fighting and destroying free radicals.
Free radicals are a group of atoms that we can blame for damaging our cells and ultimately causing cancer, cardiovascular disease, aging, and a variety of other diseases.
Additionally, flavonoids (the most common antioxidant group of polyphenols) are experts at reducing inflammation and helping to prevent cardiovascular disease by thinning the blood and inhibiting hardening of the arteries and blood pooling.
As if that weren't enough, cocoa also increases the production of serotonin and dopamine, the chemicals responsible for our feelings of well-being and happiness and our defense against stress. These, in turn, increase the production of endorphins, which inhibit the transmission of pain and produce feelings of euphoria.
To summarize:
- Cocoa helps prevent cancer by protecting our cells from free radicals.
- Cocoa helps prevent cardiovascular disease by thinning the blood, inhibiting blood clotting and reducing inflammation.
- Cocoa helps reduce blood cholesterol and lower blood pressure
- Cocoa helps reduce depression and stress
- Cocoa makes us happy!
Always keep in mind: the less sugar and the higher the cocoa content, the better!
See Also:
Low Carb Pumpkin Smoothie Recipe
Low Carb Raspberry Avocado Smoothie Recipe
Low Carb Peanut Butter Smmothie Recipe
Low carb avocado and cocoa smoothie recipe | Ingredients
- ¼ avocado
- 1 cup (tea) of coconut milk or other plant-based milk (click here for the coconut milk recipe!)
- 2 tablespoons whey protein (optional)
- 1 dessert spoon of cocoa
- 1 teaspoon xylitol or liquid sweetener (optional)
Low carb avocado and cocoa smoothie recipe | Preparation method
Blend all the ingredients in a blender. A burst of energy and disposition!
Low carb avocado and cocoa smoothie recipe | Tips
If you choose to add whey protein, you can replace the coconut milk with water, since it contains milk protein; this will prevent the recipe from becoming watery.
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