Whether you can’t imagine eating crudités or chips without a side of guacamole or love to add some sliced avocado to your toast in the morning, there’s no denying that avocado is one delicious fruit.
While many avocado aficionados may recognize that the fruit’s high fat content makes it more satisfying than your average apple or pear, there’s a surprising side effect of eating avocado even the biggest guac geeks may not know: as a good source of potassium, avocado may help soothe muscle pain.
“Avocados contain more potassium than a banana, which can help ease some muscle cramps,” explains Lindsay Wengler, MS, RD, CDN, CNSC, a registered dietitian at Olive Branch Nutrition in New York City.
In fact, in one medium-sized banana, you’ll get just 422 milligrams of potassium, while in a similarly-sized avocado, you’ll get 690 milligrams of the essential mineral.
RELATED: 8 Avocado Health Benefits That Prove It’s a Perfect Weight Loss Food
A medium-sized avocado also contains approximately 12 milligrams of vitamin C, which has similarly been linked to a reduction in muscle pain. According to a randomized control trial published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, among a group of 18 healthy adult men provided vitamin C supplementation or a placebo and then asked to perform specific exercises to the point of muscle soreness, those given the vitamin C supplements had significantly reduced muscle soreness in the first 24 hours following the completion of the assigned exercises.
That’s not the only way eating avocados may make you feel better after a workout, however.
In a 2020 article published in Scientific Reports, among a group of 12 healthy adult women, consumption of avocado pulp significantly cut down on systolic blood pressure recovery time following exercise, and cut heart rate recovery time in half as compared to a placebo group.
However, while avocados may be a boon for your workouts, they’re still high in calories and fat, so if you’re trying to lose weight, you may want to limit yourself to a serving or so a day to enjoy the maximum benefit from these tasty additions to your diet. And for more healthy eating news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read this next:
- Secret Side Effects of Eating Too Many Avocados, Say Dietitians
- What Eating Avocado Toast Does To Your Body, According to Science
- The #1 Reason Why You Shouldn’t Eat Avocado
The post One Major Side Effect of Eating Avocado, Says Dietitian appeared first on .
