Avocado

Persea americana

Many parts of the avocado tree have a use in herbal medicine. The leaves and bark are effective remedies for digestive problems and coughs. As well as being extremely nutritious, the fruit has a wide range of medicinal uses. Native peoples of Guatemala, for example, use the pulp to stimulate hair growth, the rind to expel worms, and the seeds to treat diarrhea. The fruit pulp is used as a baby food in West Africa.

ENERGY PER STANDARD PORTION 276 KCAL

• Good for the heart and circulation.
• Excellent for the skin.
• Help in the relief of PMS.
• An excellent invalid food.
• Cancer-protective.
• Best eaten raw and ripe.

,Avocados probably started life in Peru, where it is believed they were originally cultivated 8,000- 9,000 years ago. In Guatemala the fruit, dried leaves, fresh leaves, rind, bark, and even the seed are used medicinally by the indigenous natives.

The avocado is rich in potassium, lack of which can lead to depression and exhaustion. Avocado also contains vitamin B6, which helps iron out the mood-swings in women suffering from premenstrual syndrome. Thanks to their vitamin E and B content, they also aid in the relief of stress and sexual problems such as infertility (women, men) and impotence.

Every slimmer thinks that avocados are fattening, but calorie for calorie they offer super nutritional value. Their high content of monounsaturated fats -especially oleic acid, like olive oil -makes avocados one of the most powerful antioxidant foods. It is this property that offers protection against heart disease, strokes, and cancer.

The avocado's flesh and oil have long been popular with traditional practitioners as a skin treatment and it is now known that chemicals in the avocado stimulate the production of collagen, which helps to smooth out wrinkles and give skin that wonderful young fresh look cheaper and safer than either injections or dermabrasion. Avocado is also a good source of vitamins A and E, which are excellent for the skin, whether the avocado is eaten, or pulverized and used as a face mask.

Because the fats in avocado are easily digestible and it contains antifungal and antibacterial chemicals too, pureed avocado is an excellent food for invalids, convalescents, and sick children.

Parts used

Fruit, seed, leaves, bark.

Uses

Leaves & bark - Avocado leaves and the bark of young stems stimulate menstruation and can induce abortion. Being astringent and carminative, the leaves are taken for diarrhea, gas, and bloating, and are considered valuable for relieving coughs, for liver obstructions, and for clearing high uric acid levels, which cause gout.
Fruit - The rind of the fruit is used as a remedy to expel worms. The mashed fruit pulp is a nourishing food and is considered to have aphrodisiac properties. Used externally, the pulp is cooling and soothing to the skin. Avocado is applied to suppurating wounds and to the scalp to stimulate hair growth.
Oil - The expressed oil of the avocado seed nourishes and maintains skin tone. It softens rough, dry, or flaking skin and, massaged into the scalp, improves hair growth.
Avocado is also used to treat xanthomatosis.

Habitat & cultivation

Indigenous to Central America, avocado is widely cultivated for its fruit in tropical and subtropical areas, including Israel, Spain, and South Africa. Avocado is propagated from seed. The leaves of avocado are harvested as needed, and the unripe fruit is picked when fully grown.

Research

Cholesterol - Research shows that the fruit helps to lower cholesterol levels.
Poisons - Livestock that have grazed on avocado leaves, fruit, or bark have been observed to suffer fewer toxic effects from snakebite and other poisons.

Constituents

Leaves & bark: volatile oil (methylchavicol, alpha-pinene), flavonoids, tannins.
Fruit pulp: unsaturated fats, protein (about 25%), sesquiterpenes, vitamins A, B1, B2

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