The plant kingdom contains a staggering array of fruits, nearly every one trading in the same old thing: sweetness.
My fruit brethren whisper sugary promises to coax animals into eating their flesh and spreading their seeds. Their offer is understandably appealing—eating simple carbs is the fastest way for any creature on the move to get the burst of energy it needs. But me? I’m the oddball that plies my charms not with sugar but with rich, silky fat.
Once a nutritional pariah, that fat is largely what earned me my current spot as an American health darling, chunked into almost every salad and mashed into guacamole as if every day were Super Bowl Sunday. You’ll get up to 30 grams of fat from each of me, and 20 of those are the monounsaturated kind credited with raising “good” HDL cholesterol and lowering heart disease risk. I’m also great for weight control, since I’m high in fiber and abundantly satiating.
What’s good for the heart and belly is also good for the mind. Researchers recently found that people over 50 who ate one of me a day for six months improved (improved!) their cognition. That’s likely courtesy of a pigment I carry called lutein. You’ll find it in leafy greens, too—in greater quantities, in fact—but in me the builtin presence of my monounsaturates helps the body absorb it, eventually shuttling it to the brain. With greens, you need to add olive oil to get the same effect.
Denne historien er fra February 2019-utgaven av Reader's Digest US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prÞveperiode pÄ Magzter GOLD for Ä fÄ tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ?  Logg pÄ
Denne historien er fra February 2019-utgaven av Reader's Digest US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prÞveperiode pÄ Magzter GOLD for Ä fÄ tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg pÄ
Election Day Memories - Stories about voting by the people, for the people
A Convincing Argument When my boyfriend and I were finally old enough to vote in our first presidential election, we spent months debating with one another about our chosen candidates. We were quite persuasive, as we discovered when we got home from the polls and learned that we'd both voted for the other's initial choice.âSHERRY FOX Appleton, WI
A New Way to Monitor Blood Sugar
Who can benefit from this wearable technology
A Flag for Dad
An old sailor made a last wish. His son was determined to see that it came true.
Sisterhood to Last a Lifetime
These college pals teach a master class in how to maintain a friendship for 50-plus years
...TO DIE ON A HOCKEY RINK
ONE MINUTE I WAS PLAYING IN MY BEER LEAGUE, THE NEXT I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL
Yes, There's a Museum for That!
These collections are wacky, wonderful and worth a visit
Town Meeting Is Called!
Once a year, the people of Elmore, Vermont, gather to practice a cherished right: democracy
Just Tight
Broken, battered and trapped in a ravine for days, a desperate driver wonders, \"Will anyone find me?\"
WHY OUR BODIES DON'T DIG DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME
Twice a year, when we spring ahead and fall back, we're more prone to sleepiness, depression and accidents
MONEYSAVING DO'S AND DON'TS
The run-up to the holidays doesn't have to bah-humbug your budget. A shopping expert shares strategies for saving big now and all year round.