Finding Health in the Super Bowl Smorgasbord

The Super Bowl is America’s favorite holiday that isn’t one. Some like it for the excitement the game brings; others enjoy it for the camaraderie of being around friends and family. For everyone else, though, the Super Bowl is America’s favorite non-holiday for one overriding reason: the food.

Fifty-five million dollars is spent on food for Super Sunday and approximately 10 million man-hours are spent preparing food for the Super Bowl. It’s no wonder, then, that Americans eat more on Super Bowl Sunday than any other day except Thanksgiving.

As you might imagine, the foods bought, prepared and consumed on this calorie-rich day are often of the unhealthy variety, things like greasy chips, full-fat dips, batter-encrusted onion rings and fried chicken wings. A food that you can frequently find hidden among the smorgasbord of junk food is a food that is by no means junk: guacamole. And where does guacamole come from? From the avocado, of course.

The avocado—or the “Alligator Pear” as some like to call it—is primarily grown in California; San Diego is the state’s avocado capital, producing approximately 60 percent of all the avocados grown in the Golden State. The avocado’s smooth texture and flavorful consistency make it the perfect food for the developing baby, an excellent addition to the grade schooler or high schooler’s sandwich and a perfect twist to the health enthusiast’s salad. What isn’t so perfect, however, is the fact that only 43 percent of American households purchase the avocado! If you’re among the 57 percent that doesn’t purchase avocados, shame on you! Here’s why:

Concerned about your eye health? Research says that a diet rich in lutein contributes to good eyesight. Look no further than avocados for lutein, a fruit that contains 81 micrograms of the carotenoid.

One-fifth of an avocado has a measly 50 calories and 4.5 grams of fat—the majority of which is monounsaturated (aka the good kind).

When substituted for foods high in saturated fat, avocados may prove beneficial in the prevention of heart disease.

Interested in protecting the environment? In one year, an avocado tree consumes the amount of carbon dioxide a car that’s traveled 26,000 miles produces.

One acre of avocado trees consumes approximately 2.6 tons of carbon dioxide in the air over a given year.

A 2005 UCLA study indicates that a diet containing avocados contributes to a healthy prostate and deterrent to prostate cancer, due to its high lutein value.

Want to get the most bang for your buck from fruits and vegetables? A 2004 Ohio State study reveals that avocados enhance the body’s ability to absorb key nutrients like beta carotene and lycopene from vegetables like tomatoes and carrots.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to evaluating this most nutritious of fruits that used to be reserved solely for royalty. Now that it’s available to the commoners, it’s time to jump aboard the avocado bandwagon—preferably before the next Super Bowl party.