Avocados and eggs are both nutritious foods in their own right. Combining them not only creates a tasty combination but also provides you with healthy fats, protein, and key micronutrients to support various aspects of your health.
1. Better Heart Health
Combining avocado and eggs provides both healthy fats and high-quality protein, which can support heart health:
- Avocados contain monounsaturated fat, a type of healthy fat: Monounsaturated fats can help lower bad cholesterol levels, which can, in turn, lower the risk of stroke and heart disease.
- Avocados have been linked to lower heart disease and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk: One study found that eating two or more servings of avocado (1 serving = ½ avocado) a week is linked to a lower risk of heart disease and CHD. Replacing certain fatty foods with healthy unsaturated fats, such as avocado, was also shown to lower the risk.
- Protein content of eggs plus avocado may contribute to heart health: Eating a heart-healthy diet with a variety of proteins can reduce your risk of heart disease. Eggs are considered a high-quality protein as they contain all nine essential amino acids. Avocados also contain protein, more protein than any other fruit.
2. Staying Fuller Longer
Combining avocado and eggs helps you feel full and stay full, thanks to their fiber and protein.
Avocados are a good source of fiber, which aids digestion and helps keep you full. One avocado contains nearly 14 grams (g) of fiber.
The protein content of eggs also helps fill you up and keep you full by triggering greater production of the hormones that signal your body has eaten enough, and lower levels of the hormone that signals hunger. One large egg contains about 6 g of protein.
3. Improved Brain Function
Both avocados and eggs contain nutrients that can support brain health and may help slow cognitive decline:
- Avocados may improve cognitive function: One study found that older adults who ate avocado in the 24 hours before a dietary survey scored significantly better on cognitive tests, including memory tests. However, this study may not accurately reflect typical avocado intake, so it’s unclear how much the avocado itself contributed to the scores.
- Eggs may protect brain function in women: One study found that older women who ate more eggs per week had a lower decline in semantic memory (long-term memory of general knowledge) and executive function over four years. However, the difference wasn’t seen in older men.
- Eggs may improve memory in men: Another study found that eating more eggs was linked to better performance on total recall, short-term memory, and long-term memory tests among older men but not older women.
- Both contain brain-boosting nutrients: Avocados have vitamin E, lutein, B vitamins, and monounsaturated, which may have contributed to the higher cognitive scores in research. Eggs also contain other brain-boosting nutrients, including protein, amino acids, cholesterol, choline, and carotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin).
More research is needed to better understand the effects of egg and avocado consumption on brain function and how individual factors, such as sex, may influence these effects.
4. Healthy Skin and Hair
Healthy fats and key vitamins in avocado and eggs can contribute to healthy skin and hair.
Avocados are high in vitamin E, which supports healthy skin. Vitamin E helps protect the skin from sun damage due to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The healthy fats in avocado also support skin health.
Eggs are an excellent source of biotin, which is commonly seen as beneficial for healthy skin and hair. However, experts have questioned the benefits of biotin for hair and skin health, noting that it may be beneficial for certain hair conditions but not for people with healthy hair or without a biotin deficiency.
On the other hand, biotin is key to the production of keratin, a protective protein that makes up the majority of the skin, hair, and nails, and helps maintain healthy skin and hair. Eating eggs may help boost your body’s keratin production.
5. Balanced Blood Sugar
The protein content of eggs combined with the healthy fats and fiber in avocado can help you feel full and stay fuller for longer. This is important for blood sugar management, as not overeating can lower blood glucose levels and improve insulin sensitivity.
However, while avocado intake has been shown to aid in blood sugar control in individuals with type 2 diabetes, further research is needed to understand whether egg consumption has any effect on blood sugar control.
6. Enhanced Nutrient Absorption
Eating avocado and eggs together can improve nutrient absorption. Egg yolks generally contain all the fat-soluble vitamins: A, D, E, and K. These fat-soluble vitamins are best absorbed when consumed with dietary fat, such as that of an avocado. By adding an avocado, you’re helping your body take in important nutrients from the egg.