From its creamy texture to its ability to fight belly fat, there is so much to love about the avocado. But can there be too much of a good thing - especially when it comes to calories? It's so easy to polish off a single avocado in one sitting. And while a single apple or banana counts as a serving of fruit, the avocado falls outside of this simple rule of thumb. Despite being high in good-for-you monounsaturated fats, which are considered a magic bullet in the battle against belly bulge and heart disease, fat is still fat even if it is the "good" kind.
For a 2000-calorie diet, the daily intake of fat, including MUFAs, is capped at 65 grams. A five-ounce, medium-size avocado (roughly one cup) contains 23 grams of fat - that's almost one third of your fat intake for a day - and roughly 250 calories. For comparison, a medium apple is just under 100 calories and is relatively fat free. I am sad to say, a serving size of avocado is not the entire piece of fruit, but one-fifth of it, which is only an ounce. That's about two to three slices.
Now, if you're accustomed to topping your salad with an entire avocado, fear not. Nutritionist Julie Upton says that habit is OK as long as you adjust your diet to account for those extra calories and use it to replace "low-quality carbs or other foods rich in saturated fats." She suggests skipping the croutons and topping your greens with avocado, or replacing the cheese on your turkey sandwich with avocado. She qualifies her statement by adding that "a half of an avocado per day is a more reasonable serving." Come clean and tell us, how much avocado do you usually eat?
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