THE NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS OF EATING AVOCADO AS MAIN INGREDIENT OF COOKIES
A SCIENCE INVESTIGATORY PROJECT PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY AND STUDENTS OF THE BLWC
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgement
Chapter 1 Background of the Study Introduction Statement of the Problem Hypothesis Significance of the Study Scope and Limitation Conceptual Framework
Chapter 2 Review of Related Literature Foreign Literature Local Literature Foreign and Local Studies Synthesis
Chapter 3 Methodology Gender Section Ingredients and Equipments and Materials Procedures
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This research was impossible to be done without the help of the people in different ways. First of all, we would like to thank Mr. Ronaldo A. Salvador, School President, for giving us a chance to experience this subject. To our Research Adviser, Mr. Abigail Luis Ahmad for his willingness to help us for making this Science Investigatory Project successful. We would also like to thank Mrs. Angelita Lopez for giving us an idea for this product. For the fourth year students that assisted us for making this research. Thanks to Jana Meamo for teaching us the right format of these research papers and for the loving support. Lastly, we would also like to thank our parents for the financial support and for giving some advices, for giving us a time to make this research and for the loving support. Especially, we would like to thank God for giving us knowledge, spiritual presence, guiding us to make this research and for encouraging us to finish this research spiritually.
The Researchers:
K.S.S.B.
R.F.A.O.
J.L.A.T.
V.A.P.C.
R.J.E.K.
R.M.L.
J.R.T.
CHAPTER 1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Introduction
Fruits are generally high in fiber, water, vitamin C and sugars, although this latter varies widely from traces as in lime, to 61% of the fresh weight of the date.[31] Fruits also contain various phytochemicals that do not yet have an RDA/RDI listing under most nutritional factsheets, and which research indicates are required for proper long-term cellular health and disease prevention. Regular consumption of fruit is associated with reduced risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease (especially coronary heart disease), stroke, Alzheimer disease, cataracts, and some of the functional declines associated with aging.
Diets that include a sufficient amount of potassium from fruits and vegetables also help reduce the chance of developing kidney stones and may help reduce the effects of bone-loss. Fruits are also low in calories which would help lower one's calorie intake as part of a weight-loss diet
The avocado (Perseaamericana) is a tree native to Mexico and Central America, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel. Avocado or alligator pear also refers to the fruit, botanically a large berry that contains a single seed.
The significance of this study is to give importance for the fruit “Avocado (Perseaamericana)”. The researchers wanted to show its nutritional value to the students who are lacked of eating fruits like avocadoes and influence them to eat this kind of fruit.
Avocados are commercially valuable and are cultivated in tropical and Mediterranean climates throughout the world. They have a green-skinned, fleshy body that may be pear-shaped, egg-shaped, or spherical. Commercially, they ripen after harvesting. Trees are partially self-pollinating and often are propagated through grafting to maintain a predictable quality and quantity of the fruit.
About 75% of an avocado’s energy comes from fat, most of which (67% of total) is monounsaturated fat as oleic acid. Other predominant fats include palmitic acid and linoleic acid. The saturated fat content amounts to 14% of the total fat in a single serving of avocado while containing zero cholesterol. Typical total fat composition is roughly (rounded to digits): 1% ω-3, 14% ω-6, 71% ω-9 (65% oleic and 6% palmitoleic), and 14% saturated fat (palmitic acid). On a weight basis, avocados have 35% more potassium (485 mg/100 g) than bananas (358 mg/100 g). They are rich in folic acid and vitamin K, and are good dietary sources of vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E and pantothenic acid. Avocados have a high fiber content of 75% insoluble and 25% soluble fiber.
High avocado intake was shown in one preliminary study to lower blood cholesterol levels. Specifically, after a seven-day diet rich in avocados, mild hypercholesterolemia patients showed a 17% decrease in total serum cholesterol levels. These subjects also showed a 22% decrease in both LDL (harmful cholesterol) and triglyceride levels and 11% increase in HDL (helpful cholesterol) levels. A 2013 epidemiological report showed that American avocado consumers had better overall diet quality, nutrient levels, and reduced risk of metabolic syndrome. Extracts of avocado have been studied in laboratory research to assess potential for lowering risk of diabetes mellitus.
A Japanese team synthesized the four chiral components of avocado, and identified (2R, 4R)-16-heptadecene-1, 2, 4-triol as a potential antibacterial component. Due to a combination of specific aliphaticacetogenins, avocado is under preliminary research for potential anti-cancer activity.
Cookies are everyone’s favorite and the homemade ones are truly the best. For some people, baking comes naturally for them, and for those who want to try out of baking, there are easy recipes such as cookies that you can try as you start your baking hobby. The ingredients in baking aren’t expensive, Some of them have long shelf life as long as you store them properly. The equipment and materials are also inexpensive and you need not have the whole range of baking equipment. There are some that you can leave out especially if you are just starting out and is not yet into advanced baking recipes, and there are some that you can make on your own. Cookie cutters make for fun cookies. But for novelty, fun and a coordinated look if you are having a themed party, cookie cutters bring your cookies to life. There are different types of cookie cutters according to make and purpose.
Cookie molds produce three-dimensional cookies. With the tedious job of creating a life-like three-dimensional cookie, this is considered the most labor-intensive and cookies that are more artistic and not for mass production, so it really not a good idea to make them if you are just wanting to make homemade cookies as it would involve a lot of work.
Cookie cutters are great for making cookies for occasions and parties. Using wedding cookie cutters is a great way to make your own wedding cookie favors for your guests. Themed cookie cutters are also popular around Halloween and Christmas time. Cookies should taste good, and be good to look at as well. Everyone enjoys cookies and having them specially made, whether cut-out, stamped or molded, these cookies will truly bring warmth to your hearts.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The main problem of this study is to give importance of “Using Avocado as a Healthy Ingredient of a Cookie”. The problem states the following:
1. How effective is the Avocado cookie in terms of: a. Taste b. Texture c. Aroma
2. Is there a nutritional value that you can get from Avocado Cookies?
HYPOTHESIS 1. A. There’s an aftertaste of Avocado and you can taste its nutrition by its bitterness.
B. In texture, it is crunchy as other cookie products.
C. In aroma, the aroma of avocado can be easily smelled.
2. The color of avocado was faded after baking it. It turns to a brown cookie color.
3. The presence of avocado is cannot be seen by its looks when it’s finally baked.
SCOPE AND LIMITATION The research entitled “Using Avocado as a Healthy Ingredient of a Cookie” was conducted at The Bearer of Light and Wisdom Colleges. There are twenty respondents composed of twelve girls and eight boys from the Seventh Grade students (Bethlehem, Babylon, Bethany).
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Cookie-like hard wafers have existed for as long as baking is documented, in part because they deal with travel very well, but they were usually not sweet enough to be considered cookies by modern standards.
Cookies appear to have their origins in 7th century AD Persia, shortly after the use of sugar became relatively common in the region. They spread to Europe through the Muslim conquest of Spain. By the 14th century, they were common in all levels of society throughout Europe, from royal cuisine to street vendors.
With global travel becoming widespread at that time, cookies made a natural travel companion, a modernized equivalent of the travel cakes used throughout history. One of the most popular early cookies, which traveled especially well and became known on every continent by similar names, was the jumble, a relatively hard cookie made largely from nuts, sweetener, and water.
Cookies came to America in the early English settlement (the 17th century), although the name "koekje" arrived with the Dutch. This became Anglicized to "cookie" or cooky. Among the popular early American cookies were the macaroon, gingerbread cookies, and of course jumbles of various types.
The most common modern cookie, given its style by the creaming of butter and sugar, was not common until the 18th century.
Cookies are most commonly baked until crisp or just long enough that they remain soft, but some kinds of cookies are not baked at all. Cookies are made in a wide variety of styles, using an array of ingredients including sugars, spices, chocolate, butter, peanut butter, nuts, or dried fruits. The softness of the cookie may depend on how long it is baked.
A general theory of cookies may be formulated this way. Despite its descent from cakes and other sweetened breads, the cookie in almost all its forms has abandoned water as a medium for cohesion. Water in cakes serves to make the base (in the case of cakes called "batter") as thin as possible, which allows the bubbles – responsible for a cake's fluffiness – to better form. In the cookie, the agent of cohesion has become some form of oil. Oils, whether they be in the form of butter, egg yolks, vegetable oils, or lard, are much more viscous than water and evaporate freely at a much higher temperature than water. Thus a cake made with butter or eggs instead of water is far denser after removal from the oven.
Oils in baked cakes do not behave as soda tends to in the finished result. Rather than evaporating and thickening the mixture, they remain, saturating the bubbles of escaped gases from what little water there might have been in the eggs, if added, and the carbon dioxide released by heating the baking powder. This saturation produces the most texturally attractive feature of the cookie, and indeed all fried foods: crispness saturated with moisture (namely oil) that does not sink into it.
This paradigm shows the research study about Avocado as the Independent Variable while Taste, Texture and Aroma as the Dependent Variable. It shows that Avocado was stimulus from its taste, texture and aroma.
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE
On this chapter, it was consisted of studies, data, observations, journals, literatures and articles from books and net that are related to this Science Investigatory Project.
FOREIGN LITERATURE Avocado fruit is one valuable tropical produce which is highly underutilized in Samoa. It has been proven by many human nutrition studies to have positive effects on lowering total blood cholesterol, controlling weight and providing humans with essential nutrients and vitamins. It has a healthy fatty acid composition and contains abundant amounts of certain valuable plant compounds which have important functional properties. The quality of fruits is determined by various factors like variety or cultivar, growth conditions and harvesting time.
Avocado oil has been produced for many years and used mainly as a cosmetic product and raw material due to its nutrient rich unsaponifiable fraction. The recent development in technology however had lead to oil that is highly suitable for the consumer market in terms of quality and health benefits. Virgin oil contains all the healthy components of avocado like β-sitosterol, α-tocopherol, lutein and chlorophyll which are well known for their anti-cholesterol and antioxidant effects. Refined oil produces oil that is more stable but is stripped of all its healthy phenolic compounds.
Avocado oil is currently servicing a niche market for cooking oil and also as a raw material for the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. The most suitable methods for processing avocado oil are cold process and supercritical CO2. They are not only cheaper to setup but also require minimal processing which help retain all the healthful properties of avocado oil. The usual methods like hydrodistillation and solvent extraction have negative impacts on the quality of the oil. The cold process method is now used at the industrial level to produce oil for a niche market while the supercritical CO2 has only been trialed in the laboratory.
This recent article in Lifehacker with its claims of replacing some, perhaps all, of the butter in a baking recipe with mashed avocado sounded awfully vegan to me, even if by pure accident. Though not a fan of cooked avocado, I was intrigued and went along with sacrificing a perfectly ripe and tasty Haas in the name of vegan baking science. On a 91 degree day no less.
But here I am surrounded by chewy, moist, surprisingly almost-normal oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that to an uniformed eater seem like solidly good afternoon nibbles, perfect with coffee or the prize at the bottom of a brown bag lunch.
So what is different about these? Well, I didn’t color correct my photo very much, in hopes to preserve their semi-greenish, light olive hue. Unlike the claims in the LH article the addition of a healthy amount of brown sugar didn’t totally offset the mild green color.
And the taste? They taste good. They taste like brown-sugary, vanilla-laced cookies (besides the obvious nuts and chocolate bits), but with a mysterious avocado-like aftertaste. My husband claims he couldn’t (or just barely after another, cooled off cookie) taste it, but I picked up on it right away and it’s actually pleasant, even with my bias against cooked avocado. The flavor is faintly vegetal, nutty, creamy, and earthy all at once, without any of the fruity sweetness that other reduced-fat baked goods sometimes have. If I hadn’t had known and been served these myself, maybe I would have wondered why these seemingly pistachio-paste cookies taste like avocado.
The greatest victory of these “guakies” or “gamma cookies” as a few friends have dubbed them (but I’ll call them chipacados, thanks) is the excellent texture. If you’ve ever substituted applesauce or prunes in cookies to the end disappointment of cakey, overly-damp cookies, I understand if you’re less than thrilled at the idea of avocado used in place of fat. However, the resulting texture of these cookies was dense, moist and super chewy without that telltale low-fat cakey texture. As they continue to cool, they become fairly study, avocado strangeness considered.
So are these low-fat? Probably not. These are still cookies. Lots of sugar, nuts, and chocolate should keep you pacing yourselves and not turn an entire batch into lunch. But if the idea of offbeat baked goods with slightly less fat and a pleasing chewy texture sound intriguing, then maybe a little ‘cado is what the cookie doctor ordered.
Oatmeal Chipacado Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen cookies
For best results use an avocado that’s just turned ripe. You want the flesh to be firm and bright green with little or no brown striations, which can add bitterness. If you’re feeling lazy, squish the avocado halves in your hands directly into the mixing bowl, instead of bothering with mashing them in a separate bowl first.
The flavor and texture of these cookies improves as they cool, so do try and leave them alone for at least 15 minutes after baking. * ⅓ cup vanilla almond milk * 3 tablespoons ground flax seed * 1 cup mashed, ripe avocado (about 1 large Haas avocado) * 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed * 1/4 cup sugar * 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract * ½ teaspoon baking soda * ½ teaspoon salt * ½ cup unbleached all - purpose flour * 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats or quick-cooking oats * 1 cup semisweet vegan chocolate chips * 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Lightly spray the parchment paper with cooking spray (the dough is stickier than regular cookie dough and needs a little extra grease).
In a glass measuring cup whisk together the almond milk and ground flax seed and set aside for 3 minutes. Meanwhile in a large mixing bowl using electric beaters beat together the mashed avocado and both sugars until creamy and as smooth as possible. Beat in the flax seed almond milk mixture and vanilla extract, then sift in the baking soda, salt, and flour until combined.
Use a rubber spatula to fold in the oats, chocolate chips, and chopped pecans or walnuts and make a thick dough. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop the dough into balls on to the sheet about 2 inches apart, and gently flatten the dough balls with lightly moistened fingers. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies are golden and browned on the bottom. Remove from oven and cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then use a spatula to carefully transfer (cookies will be fragile) to cooling racks to completely cool. Store loosely covered.
SOURCE: http://veganlatina.com/oatmeal-chipacado-cookies/ I keep in touch with one of my best friends from high school. Her name is Nikki and she lives in rural Pennsylvania with her husband and four kids. Four! She's an inspired cook who can throw a meal together on a whim from a refrigerator she keeps packed with all manner of whole, natural foods. She's an enthusiastic supporter of local growers and producers and regularly sends me emails highlighting recent cooking triumphs and trials. A few months back she emailed me her recipe for butter-less, flour-less, egg-less, and potentially sugar-less cookies - I promptly filed it under "can't possibly be good." How wrong I was.
When I made a trip to Philadelphia a few weeks back and spent the day with Nikki the topic of the cookies was revisited. Nikki mounted a compelling argument for these banana-battered treats, and I quickly bumped them to the top of my to-do list. My only regret is that I didn't try them sooner. The shredded coconut gives each cookie a hint of macaroon-esque texture, the oats lend heartiness, and melted chocolate chunks deliver bursts of dark, intense richness. You get just enough golden crustiness where the cookies touch the pan to play off the tender coconut-flecked center of the rest of the cookie.
Wayne and his brother Greg drove me out to see Nikki in Kennett Square, and for those of you who find yourself in the area I'll list off a few of the places Nikki took me to visit that day. First thing in the morning, on the drive out, we stopped off at Terrain at Styers. I bought enough that my suitcase barely squeaked under the fifty pound mark on the flight home - I should also thank Terrain for stocking my book! With Nikki we made the short drive from her house to Va La Vineyards, and then onto an organic mushroom grower to pick up a case of portobellos (which we would throw on the grill later). We hit "downtown" Kennett Square and I got a coconut popsicle at La Michoacana before hitting up their wonderful farmers' market (more on this later), on to Talula's Table, and then back to Nikki's house for an impromptu feast with the kids and a few of Nikki's wonderful friends.
Nikki's Healthy Cookie Recipe
You can use unsweetened carob, or grain sweetened chocolate chips, or do what I did and chop up 2/3 of a bar of Scharffenberger 70%. I sort-of shaved half the bar with a knife and then cut the rest into bigger chip-sized chunks. You can make your own almond meal by pulsing almonds in a food processor until it is the texture of sand - don't go too far or you'll end up with almond butter. And lastly, the coconut oil works beautifully here, just be sure to warm it a bit - enough that it is no longer solid, which makes it easier to incorporate into the bananas. If you have gluten allergies, seek out GF oats.
3 large, ripe bananas, well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil, barely warm - so it isn't solid (or alternately, olive oil)
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup almond meal
1/3 cup coconut, finely shredded & unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 - 7 ounces chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, racks in the top third.
In a large bowl combine the bananas, vanilla extract, and coconut oil. Set aside. In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks/chips. The dough is a bit looser than standard cookie dough, don't worry about it. Drop dollops of the dough, each about 2 teaspoons in size, an inch apart, onto a parchment (or Silpat) lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes. I baked these as long as possible without burning the bottoms and they were perfect - just shy of 15 minutes seems to be about right in my oven.
Makes about 3 dozen bite-sized cookies.
SOURCE: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/nikkis-healthy-cookies-recipe.html
LOCAL LITERATURE
At the end of the nineteenth, several plant species were introduced into the Philippines. These came from different parts of the world and included fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants. Some proved to be valuable and easily adapted to the Philippine conditions while others were less promising and did not gain a wide acceptance among the populace. One of the introductions which proved to be suitable to the Philippine soil and climatic conditions was the avocado.
Known as 'aguacate' inSpanish and 'alligator pear', 'Palta pear', 'Midshipman’s butter' and ‘avocado' in English, it is called as 'abokado' in the Philippine vernacular. It was introduced into the Philippines in 1890 by the Spaniards through seeds coming from Mexico. However, it was only from 1902 to 1907 that avocado was introduced successfully into the Philippines by the Americans. Through the Bureau of Agriculture (now the Bureau of Plant Industry which is under the Department of Agriculture , planting materials were received from Hawaii, Costa Rica and the United States. In 1913, the Bureau of Agriculture, together with the College of Agriculture of the University of the Philippines Los Baños, started the countrywide spreading of avocado trees. Now, avocados are found growing all over the country, most of which are cultivated in backyards.
Crop statistics, compiled by the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics of the Department of Agriculture showed that in 1990-1997 the Philippines had a total area of 4,753 hectares planted with avocado (Table 1). Average annual production was estimated at 45,884 tonnes. Leading producing regions of the country are the Cagayan Valley, Central Visayas, and Southern Tagalog, while the leading producing provinces are Bohol, located in Central Visayas, and Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino and Cagayan which are located in the Cagayan Valley. In terms of area planted with avocado, Bicol is the leading region, followed by Cagayan Valley and Southern Luzon. Most regions of the country, however, have low productivity since avocado is grown mostly as a backyard tree or as a component of a mixed orchard with little or no care at all.
In the Philippines, two distinct types of avocado exist, namely the green-fruited and the purple-fruited types. In other countries and notably in the USA, the green-fruited varieties are preferred. In the Philippines, however, the purple-fruited varieties are preferred by the consumers.
Since the avocado is not considered a major fruit in the country and is planted mostly in backyards, only a limited amount of planting material is being produced in a few government institutions and private nurseries. Planting materials may come in the form of grafted plants or seedlings for rootstock use. Government agencies such as the Bureau of Plant Industry of the Department of Agriculture and the University of the Philippines Los Baños, particularly the National Seed Foundation and the Department of Horticulture, produce a few hundred grafted plants of locally available varieties. Small private nurseries which also sell sexually propagated avocado plants are a good source of seedling rootstocks for propagation. Seedlings grown in the nurseries are heterogeneous - each seedling different from another, even though the seeds may have come from one variety or only from one parent tree.
The commonly used and preferred method for large-scale propagation is grafting. This method is less labour-requiring, faster and economical in the use of scion materials. In the case of cleft-grafting, 6-12 months old seedlings are used as rootstocks. Budwood sticks are obtained from the season’s mature growth with well-developed terminal buds. New shoots are formed within three to four weeks.
Other methods of propagation which are sometimes employed are inarching and shield-budding. Inarching is a slow and laborious process although it can be used during the rainy season when grafting and budding cannot be done successfully. Shield-budding on the other hand is a fast method. However, it requires skill.
FOREIGN AND LOCAL STUDIES
The avocado is colloquially known as the Alligator Pear, reflecting its shape and the leather-like appearance of its skin. Avocado is derived from the Aztec word "ahuacatl". Avocados are the fruit from Perseaamericana, a tall evergreen tree that can grow up to 65 feet in height. Avocados vary in weight from 8 ounces to 3 pounds depending upon the variety.
What's New and Beneficial about Avocados
Consider adding avocado to salads, and not only on account of taste! Recent research has shown that absorption of two key carotenoid antioxidants—lycopene and beta-carotene—increases significantly when fresh avocado (or avocado oil) is added to an otherwise avocado-free salad. One cup of fresh avocado (150 grams) added to a salad of romaine lettuce, spinach, and carrots increased absorption of carotenoids from this salad between 200-400%. This research result makes perfect sense to us because carotenoids are fat-soluble and would be provided with the fat they need for absorption from the addition of avocado. Avocado oil added to a salad accomplished this same result. Interestingly, both avocado oil and fresh avocado added to salsa increased carotenoid absorption from the salsa as well. That's even more reason for you to try our 15-Minute Halibut with Avocado Salsa great-tasting recipe that can help optimize your carotenoid health benefits.
The method you use to peel an avocado can make a difference to your health. Research has shown that the greatest concentration of carotenoids in avocado occurs in the dark green flesh that lies just beneath the skin. You don't want to slice into that dark green portion any more than necessary when you are peeling an avocado. For this reason, the best method is what the California Avocado Commission has called the "nick and peel" method. In this method, you actually end up peeling the avocado with your hands in the same way that you would peel a banana. The first step in the nick-and-peel method is to cut into the avocado lengthwise, producing two long avocado halves that are still connected in the middle by the seed. Next you take hold of both halves and twist them in opposite directions until they naturally separate. At this point, remove the seed and cut each of the halves lengthwise to produce long quartered sections of the avocado. You can use your thumb and index finger to grip the edge of the skin on each quarter and peel it off, just as you would do with a banana skin. The final result is a peeled avocado that contains most of that dark green outermost flesh so rich in carotenoid antioxidants!
We tend to think about carotenoids as most concentrated in bright orange or red vegetables like carrots or tomatoes. While these vegetables are fantastic sources of carotenoids, avocado—despite its dark green skin and largely greenish inner pulp—is now known to contain a spectacular array of carotenoids. Researchers believe that avocado's amazing carotenoid diversity is a key factor in the anti-inflammatory properties of this vegetable. The list of carotenoids found in avocado include well-known carotenoids like beta-carotene, alpha-carotene and lutein, but also many lesser known carotenoids including neochrome, neoxanthin, chrysanthemaxanthin, beta-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, and violaxanthin.
Avocado has sometimes received a "bad rap" as a vegetable too high in fat. While it is true that avocado is a high-fat food (about 85% of its calories come from fat), the fat contained in avocado is unusual and provides research-based health benefits. The unusual nature of avocado fat is threefold. First are the phytosterols that account for a major portion of avocado fats. These phytosterols include beta-sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol and they are key supporters of our inflammatory system that help keep inflammation under control. The anti-inflammatory benefits of these avocado fats are particularly well-documented with problems involving arthritis. Second are avocado's polyhydroxylated fatty alcohols (PFAs). PFAs are widely present in ocean plants but fairly unique among land plants—making the avocado tree (and its fruit) unusual in this regard. Like the avocado's phytosterols, its PFAs also provide us with anti-inflammatory benefits. Third is the unusually high amount of a fatty acid called oleic acid in avocado. Over half of the total fat in avocado is provided in the form of oleic acid—a situation very similar to the fat composition of olives and olive oil. Oleic acid helps our digestive tract form transport molecules for fat that can increase our absorption of fat-soluble nutrients like carotenoids. As a monounsaturated fatty acid, it has also been shown to help lower our risk of heart disease. So don't be fooled by avocado's bad rap as a high-fat food. Like other high-fat plant foods (for example, walnuts and flaxseeds), avocado can provide us with unique health benefits precisely because of its unusual fat composition.
Health Benefits
Promote Heart Health
Before reviewing special health areas in which avocados truly shine in terms of their health benefits, it's worth remembering the big picture. That's exactly what Victor Fulgoni and his fellow researchers at Nutrition Impact, LLC did when they reviewed data from the federal government's National Health and Nutrition Examination Study (NHANES 2001-2006) and the dietary intake of 14,484 U.S. adults. Amazingly, only 273 adults participating in this study reported consumption of avocado within the last 24 hours. Amongst the 273 participants who reported recent consumption of avocado, however, nutrient intake was found to be significant higher than other participants for several vitamins (vitamin E and vitamin K), several minerals (potassium and magnesium), and at least one desirable macronutrient (total dietary fiber). Avocado consumers were also determined to be lower in weight and lower in body mass index than non-consumers. Total fat intake, total monounsaturated fat intake, and total polyunsaturated fat intake was higher in consumers of avocado, even though their overall calorie intake was not significantly different from non-consumers of avocado. This nationwide comparison of avocado consumers and non-consumers doesn't prove that avocado consumers get health advantages from avocado. Nor does it prove that avocado consumption makes us lower in weight. But it does point us in the general direction of viewing avocado as a health supportive food that may give us a "leg up" in terms of health and nourishment.
Wide-Ranging Anti-Inflammatory Benefits
The ability of avocado to help prevent unwanted inflammation is absolutely unquestionable in the world of health research. The term "anti-inflammatory" is a term that truly applies to this delicious food. Avocado's anti-inflammatory nutrients fall into five basic categories:
• phytosterols, including beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol, and campesterol
• carotenoid antioxidants, including lutein, neoxanthin, neochrome, chrysanthemaxanthin, beta-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, violaxanthin , beta-carotene and alpha-carotene
• other (non-carotenoid) antioxidants, including the flavonoids epicatechin and epigallocatechin 3-0-gallate, vitamins C and E, and the minerals manganese, selenium, and zinc
• omega-3 fatty acids, in the form of alpha-linolenic acid (approximately 160 milligrams per cup of sliced avocado)
• polyhydroxylated fatty alcohols (PSA)s
Arthritis—including both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis—are health problems that have received special research attention with respect to dietary intake of avocado. All categories of anti-inflammatory nutrients listed above are likely to be involved in avocado's ability to help prevent osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. One especially interesting prevention mechanism, however, appear to involve avocado's phytosterols (stigmasterol, campesterol, and beta-sitosterol) and the prevention of too much pro-inflammatory PGE2 (prostaglandin E2) synthesis by the connective tissue.
Optimized Absorption of Carotenoids
No single category of nutrients in avocado is more impressive than carotenoids. Here's a list that summarizes key carotenoid antioxidants provided by avocado:
• alpha-carotene
• beta-carotene
• beta-cryptoxanthin
• chrysanthemaxanthin
• lutein
• neochrome
• neoxanthin
• violaxanthin
• zeaxanthin
Optimal absorption of these fat-soluble phytonutrients requires just the right amount and combination of dietary fats—and that is exactly the combination that is provided by avocado! Included within avocado are generous amounts of oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid that makes it easier for the digestive tract to form transport molecules (chylomicrons) that can carry carotenoids up into the body. This great match between avocado's fat content and its carotenoids also extends to the relationship between avocado and other foods. Consider, for example, a simple salad composed of romaine lettuce, spinach, and carrots. This simple salad is rich in carotenoids, and when we eat it, we definitely get important carotenoid benefits. But recent research has shown that if one cup of avocado (150 grams) is added to this salad, absorption of carotenoids will be increased by 200-400%! This improvement in carotenoid absorption has also been shown in the case of salsa made with and without avocado. (That's even more reason, we think, to try our recipe for 15-Minute Halibut with Avocado Salsa!)
Supports Cardiovascular Health
Avocado's support for heart and blood vessels might be surprising to some people who think about avocado as too high in fat for heart health. From a research standpoint, however, many metabolic aspects of heart health - including levels of inflammatory risk factors, levels of oxidative risk factors, and blood fat levels (including level of total cholesterol) - are improved by avocado. In addition, we know that heart health is improved by intake of oleic acid (the primary fatty acid in avocado) and by intake of omega-3 fatty acids (provided by avocado in the form of alpha-linolenic acid and in the amount of 160 milligrams per cup). Since elevated levels of homocysteine form a key risk factor for heart disease, and since B vitamins are very important for healthy regulation of homocysteine levels, avocado's significant amounts of vitamin B-6 and folic acid provide another channel of heart support.
Research on avocado and heart disease remains in the preliminary stage, with studies mostly limited to lab studies on cells or animals fed avocado extracts. But we fully expect to see large-scale human studies confirming the heart health benefits of this unique food.
Promotes Blood Sugar Regulation
One of the most fascinating areas of avocado research—and one that may turn out to be the most unique for health support—involves carbohydrates and blood sugar regulation. Avocado is relatively low-carb food, with about 19% of its calories coming from carbs. It's also a low-sugar food, containing less than 2 grams of total sugar per cup, and falls very low on the glycemic index. At the same time, one cup of avocado provides about 7-8 grams of dietary fiber, making it an important dietary source of this blood sugar-regulating nutrient. Given this overall carb profile, we would not expect avocado to be a problematic food for blood sugar unless it was eaten in excessive amounts (many cups per serving).
Within its relatively small carb content, however, avocado boasts some of the most unusual carb components in any food. When it is still on the tree, avocado contains about 60% of its carbs in the form of 7-carbon sugars. In sizable amounts, 7-carbon sugars (like mannoheptulose, the primary carb in unripened avocado) are rarely seen in foods. Because of their rare status, food scientists have been especially interested in the 7-carbon sugars (mannoheptulose, sedoheptulose, and related sugar alcohols like perseitol) found in avocado. The 7-carbon sugars like mannoheptulase may help regulate the way that blood sugar (glucose) is metabolized by blocking activity of an enzyme called hexokinase and changing the level of activity through a metabolic pathway called glycolysis. Research in this area is still a long way from determining potential health benefits for humans from dietary intake of these 7-carbon sugars. But it's an exciting area of potential health benefit for avocado, especially since this food is already recognized as low glycemic index.
One final interesting observation comes from this research on avocado and its carbs: after five days of ripening (post-harvest, beginning with removal of the avocado from the tree), the carb profile of avocado changes significantly. The 7-carbon sugars change from being the predominant form of carbs in avocado (60%) to being an important but minority component (between 40-50% of total carbs). With ripening, the 5-carbon sugars—especially sucrose—become the predominant carbs. While it's too early in the research process to draw health-oriented conclusions from this information, these findings may be encouraging us to consider degree of avocado ripeness as an important factor in its health benefits. We already know to stay away from an extremely overripe avocado that has become overly soft and has developed dark sunken spots on its skin. Perhaps off in the future, we'll be able to zero in on exact amounts of avocado ripeness that offers different types of unique health benefits, including carb-related benefits.
Anti-Cancer Benefits
The ability of avocado to help prevent the occurrence of cancers in the mouth, skin, and prostate gland has been studied in a preliminary way by health researchers, mostly through the use of lab studies on cancer cells or lab studies involving animals and their consumption of avocado extracts. But even though this anti-cancer research has been limited with respect to humans and diet, we believe that the preliminary results are impressive. The anti-cancer properties of avocado are definitely related to its unusual mix of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant nutrients. That relationship is to be expected since cancer risk factors almost always include excessive inflammation (related to lack of anti-inflammatory nutrients) and oxidative stress (related to lack of antioxidants). But here is where the avocado story gets especially interesting. In healthy cells, avocado works to improve inflammatory and oxidative stress levels. But in cancer cells, avocado works to increase oxidative stress and shift the cancer cells over into a programmed cell death cycle (apoptosis), lessening the cancer cell numbers. In other words, avocado appears to selectively push cancer cells "over the brink" in terms of oxidative stress and increase their likelihood of dying, while at the same time actively supporting the health of non-cancerous cells by increasing their supply antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients. We look forward to large-scale studies in this area involving humans and dietary consumption of avocado.
Have you ever experienced that after eating avocado your wounds heals fast, your fever gone, your runny nose stops! Your pimples no more and your eyes becomes even brighter? Did you noticed cancer patients healed by eating avocado?
Avocado is often said to be the most nutritious fruit in the world – and it is! The fruit provides more than 25 essential nutrients such as protein, iron, copper, phosphorus and magnesium, just to name a few.
Nutritionists claim avocado contain goodly amounts of Vitamin C (necessary for the production of collagen needed for the growth of new cells and tissues, prevents viruses from penetrating cell membranes, and also a powerful anti-oxidant), thiamine (converts carbohydrates to glucose to fuel the brain and nervous system), and riboflavin (helps the body to release energy from proteins, carbohydrates and fat).
Avocado also has 60 percent more potassium than banana. Potassium is a mineral that helps regulate blood pressure. As such, adequate intake of potassium can help guard against circulatory diseases, like high blood pressure, heart disease, or stroke. In addition, avocado also provides calories for energy and beneficial phytochemicals such as glutathione.
In recent years, most people avoid eating avocado like the plague. The reason: avocado is high in fat. In fact, 75 percent of its calories come from fat (which is why avocado is a good source of energy). But what they don't know that the fat it contains is the healthful monounsaturated fat, which has been linked to a reduced risk of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.
"Avocados aid in blood and tissue regeneration, stabilize blood sugar, and are excellent for heart disorders," says Dr. Ed Bauman, director of Bauman College. "They're loaded with fiber (11 to 17 grams per fruit) and are a good source of lutein, an antioxidant linked to eye and skin health." Unsaturated fats are those found in dairy and animal products.
Another reason for eating avocado: It helps in the absorption of nutrients that are fat-soluble such as beta-carotene and lutein, when foods containing these nutrients are eaten with avocado.
Overall, avocado is considered a complete food: it has vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, calories and fiber, no cholesterol, and is sodium free. As such, avocado is ideal for growing up children, adults and even for babies, especially when blended with other fruits. For athletes, avocado is a nutritious energy booster to rev up the body’s strength.
In the past, avocado has been considered to be an aphrodisiac. In fact, the Aztecs used the avocado as a sex stimulant and its name for the fruit as ahuacatl, which means "testicle". Because of this well-entrenched reputation for inducing sexual prowess, avocado wasn't purchased or consumed by any person wishing to protect their image from slanderous assault.
Although edible by themselves, avocados are commonly used as a base in dips. In areas where the fruit is commonly grown, a common breakfast is avocado on toast. This is made by mashing the avocado with some lemon juice, salt and pepper and spreading on hot freshly toasted bread.
Actually, the avocado fruit is not sweet, but fatty, distinctly yet subtly flavored, and of smooth, almost creamy texture. In Brazil and Vietnam, avocados are frequently used for milk-shakes and occasionally added to ice cream and other desserts. In Indonesia, a dessert drink is made with sugar, milk or water, and pureed avocado.
In the Philippines, ripe avocado is often eaten as a snack by scooping from flesh from the skin then mixed with some sugar and milk or cream. Most Filipinos simply find the taste so delicious!
There are many health benefits you can get when eating avocado. Recent studies have shown that high avocado intake has effect on blood serum cholesterol levels. Specifically, after a seven day diet rich in avocados, hypercholesterolemia patients showed a 17 percent decrease in total serum cholesterol levels. These subjects also showed a 22 percent decrease in both LDL (low-density lipoprotein or "bad cholesterol") and triglyceride levels and 11 percent increase in HDL (high-density lipoprotein or “good cholesterol”) levels.
Researchers have also discovered that avocados are rich in beta sitosterol, a natural substance shown to significantly lower blood cholesterol levels. In a review article published in the December 1999 issue of the American Journal of Medicine, researchers pointed out that beta-sitosterol was shown to reduce cholesterol in 16 human studies.
But before you pile avocados onto every dish, remember that when it comes to calories, avocados have lots of them -- because of all that fat. Fat of any type has double the calories of the same amount of carbohydrates. "Avocados add great variety to a well-balanced, low-fat diet, but you have to eat them in moderation," reminds Melanie Polk, a registered dietitian and director of nutrition education at the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C.
A recommended serving size is two tablespoons, or roughly one-sixth of a medium-sized avocado. Each serving provides 5 grams of fat and 55 calories. Still, compared with butter or mayonnaise -- which each pack 22 fat grams and 200 calories in a 2-tablespoon serving -- they don't seem so bad.
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
The purposes of this study were to examine the perceptions of selected respondents by its gender and section, to provide information about the materials used and to describe the experimental procedures used to analyze the data.
Table 3.1
Frequency Distribution of Respondents’ Gender
Gender | Number | Mean | Percentage | Male | 8 | 4 | 40% | Female | 12 | 6 | 60% | Total | 20 | 1 | 100% |
Table 3.1 shows that there are 8 male respondents and it’s 40 percent. While in the female respondents there are also 12 and it’s 60 percent. The total number of respondents is 20 or 100 percent.
Table 3.2
Frequency Distribution of Respondents’ Section
Section | Number of Students | Mean | Percentage | Bethany | 7 | .35 | 35% | Bethlehem | 4 | .2 | 20% | Babylon | 9 | .45 | 45% | Total | 20 | 1 | 100% |
Table 3.2 shows the section Bethany has 7 respondents with the percentage of 35 percent. In section Bethlehem, there are 4 respondents with the percentage of 20 percent. Lastly, the section of Babylon has 9 respondents with the percentage of 45 percent. The total percentage of all sections is 100 percent.
INGREDIENTS Avocado
Baking Powder
Brown Sugar
Vanilla Extract
Salt
Eggs
Flour
Butter
MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENTS
Oven
Mixing Bowls
Blender
Fork
Spoon
Chopping Board
PROCEDURES
Prepare and wash all the materials and ingredients that are needed.
Slice the avocado into two-piece.
Put and mix all these ingredients in a bowl:
1 cup of butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 egg, then mix
In the other bowl, mix these following ingredients:
2 tablespoons of flour
2 tablespoons of baking powder
Then mix all the mixed ingredients
Scrape the avocado from its peel
Blend the avocado
Mix the avocado to the mixed ingredients
After mixing it, form it in a circular form
Put those in the oven with 375 degrees
And you can make four cookies only. ENJOY!
