The next time you are eating an avocado or making a tasty batch of guacamole, don’t throw away the seeds! At first glance, they might appear to be a big pill to swallow. Thankfully, I’m not suggesting that you do. But, there may be health benefits to consuming the seed, not just the flesh.
In fact, while I am sitting here writing this, I am listening to a group of doctors discussing avocados and how good they are for our health. The creamy flesh has been long thought of as good for our skin, hair, weight loss, digestive health, and balancing blood sugars.
We are accustomed to eating the flesh part of the avocado, and it’s loaded with nutrients. However, the seed seems to be as well. It contains fiber, protein, calcium, potassium, magnesium, phenols, and flavonoids. While there is still some doubt by a few, many professionals and non-professionals believe these are beneficial to our health, including reducing blood pressure and cholesterol.
So, it only makes sense that a closer look at the root of the fruit is in order. Or, the seed, where all the nutrients are born. But, it’s like a rock to chew, and far too large to swallow whole. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to prepare the seed so it can be added to your diet.
Preparing the Seed
First, you will need to remove the seed from the flesh, which can be messy and difficult at times. However, there is a little trick I learned…
Slice the avocado lengthwise with outer skin intact, as pictured below.
Tap into the seed with a large and sharp knife.
Once the knife has taken hold of the seed, twist it until it pops out.
Next, you will need to prepare the seed(s). You do this by the following method:
#1. Rinse the seed.
#2. Place them in an oven to dehydrate, at 250° F, for 2 hours.
#3. After dehydration, the outer skin of the seed can easily be removed.
#4. Use a large knife to slice the seeds.
#5. Put into a high powered blender, or coffee grinder.
#6. Pulse until it turns into a powder.
Now, what do you do with this powder?
Using the Avocado Seed Powder
Once you have the powder ready, you will need to find ways to ingest it. However, I would caution you to use in moderation, until you know how well you can tolerate it. In addition to studies still being conducted, it tends to have a strong flavor. I found it rather bitter. So, you might not want to eat it without camouflaging it in some other food. There are several ways you can add the powder to your diet such as adding a 1-2 teaspoons to:
- Smoothies
- Oatmeal
- Baking
- Entrees
- Beverages
Of course, this not to replace eating the flesh, as that is a wonderful and healthy fruit to eat…and it tastes good. But, there might be times you don’t have fresh avocados on hand, or simply want a break…yet, don’t want to miss out on the nutrients. So, if you tend to eat an avocado twice a week and want a break, adding this powder to your diet a couple times a week could be a good alternative for you.
However, keep in mind that consuming excessive amounts of anything is not recommended. In other words, this is not meant to be a daily supplement. Consuming avocado seed powder is gaining in popularity. But keep in mind, the act of doing so still has some critics.
Storing the Avocado Powder
You can store the unused portion of the powder in a container, and place it in the freezer.
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Interesting avocado seed receipt.
Bitter:
I studied under an ayurvedic charya, and he used to encapsulate the principles of ayurveda, saying, “If you eat a balance of the six tastes, sweet, sour, spice, salt, astringent, and bitter, you will maintain good health.”
I love this ! Mainly because it breaks my heart to throw away the pits . I’ve always thrown as far as I can out in the sage , knowing they won’t grow , but at least they can go back to Ma Earth. I think it’s wrong to throw them in the trash , because the poor things probably sprout in the yucky landfill ~ and couldn’t possibly make it .
I have never thrown away avocado pips either. Have put each one as shown in the attached photo. 3 tooth picks & a glass of water. I put them in a dark cupboard , kept the water level up & after a few months they root. Then I put them on a window sill & they shoot. Rotate to the light then pick off the top 2 leaves when the second lot appear. They are soon ready to pot. When about 2 feet high. At one house I had nearly 100 growing 5 ft high in pots. At another house I planted 2 different species ( I understand there are 10 or more species & some are cold or heat tolerant). Those trees are probably 30 ft high now. The flowers are male or female & bees fly frpm one to another, so self-pollinating. But it takes 9 years before they fruit. Imagine if we all potted every seed of every avo we ate. We would reforrest the world & combat climate change!
Looked up how to grow an advocado plant using the seed and it took three months for it to have leaves. My goodness why so long?
Avocado pit is anti bacterial, anti-viral and anti fungal. At the very first sign of any cough, cold, flu etc. make two cups of tea with an avocado pit (dehydrated and powdered.) Steep twenty minutes, strain and take a shot glass full every hour until gone. Repeat if necessary. The 1st batch is usually all it takes.
What is the beta sitosterol level in avocado pits? Could it be used for BPH or ED?
Here in avocado land, knowing that avocado pits are edible is a useful resource in the event of the ETOW. I am confident there will be piles of pits in the orchards. My only hope is the yo-yos who pick the avocados don’t ruin the trees doing it. An early 70s case in this county was two doofuses who spent a whole day stealing avocados from a farmer’s orchard. They wound up selling them for less money than if each had worked at MickeyD’s for an eight hour shift. In addition to stealing his avocados, they damaged his trees to the tune of several thousands of dollars because they tore branches off to pick the avocados instead of using a ladder to pick them the normal way. We still have a lot of orchard fruit here in this county that would go a long way to sustaining life in an EOTW situation if the people who pick them don’t ruin the trees in picking them.
You’ve encouraged me to get a tree and plant it in the yard. Haas is supposed to be a good variety with high cold tolerance.
I’ll save and send this to a friend who’s brother was turned down for a job thanks to high blood pressure. Mine is always in the low-good range. I do not eat gluten, those like most of mine, “If it ain’t deep-fried, is it food?” Avocados are cheap here, more or less, thanks to Mexico being 100 miles south. niio!
Haas seems to be the main variety in the grocery stores here in SoCal when the avocados are not from Mexico. I try not to buy Mexican avocados because by the time they get here from Mexico they either must be eaten right away or else they have already started to turn brown. Sometimes though, the price is too low to resist, especially if I am going to be making guacamole with them.
Vegetables typically have a very low blood pressure or no pulse at all. Thanks for sharing your metabolic status. Let us know when your brain waves exceed zero.
Hack: You seem to have a very dour outlook on life and can only make derogatory comments. This comment was totally uncalled for. Perhaps you should seek professional advice on how to change your outlook on life. Someone with such a dismal view also frequently has low self-worth. You just might have a more satisfying life with higher self-esteem.
I have never thrown away avocado pips either. Have put each one as shown in the attached photo in the article. 3 tooth picks & a glass of water. I put them in a dark cupboard , kept the water level up & after a few months they root. Then I put them on a window sill & they shoot. Rotate to the light then pick off the top 2 leaves when the second lot appear. They are soon ready to pot. When about 2 feet high. At one house I had nearly 100 growing 5 ft high in pots. At another house I planted 2 different species ( I understand there are 10 or more species & some are cold or heat tolerant). Those trees are probably 30 ft high now. The flowers are male or female & bees fly frpm one to another, so self-pollinating. But it takes 9 years before they fruit. Imagine if we all potted every seed of every avo we ate. We would reforrest the world & combat climate change!
The hacksaw is already a broken piece of human being relying on PIZZAS,the poison. I am Yoga master.Now 75 years and fully fit in all because of Yoga and Aurveda(The World of ancient Indian herbal Science.
I am proud of it as Indian).The kowlwdge about AVOCADO here is great.
Geez, hocker, you can do better than that. My God, but that was one sorry excuse for sly humor. Where I come from little kids can make better wiseass remarks than that, and are encouraged to. It’s a game to us, like asking you did this bad attitude start before or after you found out your mother was actually a cross-dresser, not a woman? No, let’s start out with something simple: No, never mind,you probably wouldn’t understand it, anyway….
May only work for some, but Read Raspberry leaves WILL lower and keep b/p within proper range. Dose of about 450 mg 2 -3 x/day was all it took. Consider drying leaves and pulverize them into powder. Fill medium sized capsule to obtain approx 450 mg. It may work by adjusting the endocrine system. My cardiologist was blown away with the results! No side effects!!
Don’t laugh, but one older sister used the leaves when it was time for her monthly. wow, what an attitude change! Blame it on the genes. Our word for Mom is etsi, also means a mother wolf. Do you use zinc for viral infections? It works, but if you don’t and try it, mind your stomach at first, always eat before taking even a low dose. niio
Never heard of read raspberry leaves or any other color raspberry leaves. When we had the bushes they were always green.
Red Raspberries leaves are good for my rabbits having babies. Yes, i can see they would be good for that time of month. Haven’t put in the berry patch but intend too. In AZ, they say Avocado’s can’t be grown. Yes, they can, will put them on the east side of a big tree. May need to use shade cloth, but will have them.
I’ve seen them, but the few I eat it wouldn’t pay. ‘Sides, if I put them on the east side of the tree, they’d be in the alley and closet gays would kill them (a closet gay is someone who acts anti-social for kicks, a spoiled adult brat). And, I like the mesquite coming up better, for that. Let them run over them like they did the ‘flowers’ there (sweet potatoes, tomatoes, a pumpkin vine, all killed, till i plants a few minor boulders 🙂 Now the mesquite seedlings that survived being run over are baack, like Johnny said, and covered in thorns. Them, I’m keeping watered, and some the nopale cactus, too 🙂 There’s now wivian tobacco from down in the Wash thriving there, as well. Glad to find another Arizonan here. Arizona! niio
Wisenheimer, ist 🙂 Someone told me blackberry leaves are good, too. I looked and looked, but found not one leaf on any of the berries! niio
Is the hardcover that is installed on a GENERAC Self Starting Generator sufficient protection in the event of an EMP Attack or is the additional throw over still needed?
Take an Avocado pit, grate it up, easier if you have frozen them after they dry, before they get too hard. 2 cups of water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer 20 minutes. Let cool, strain out the pits. Take a 1 oz. shot every hour, until gone. No cold, no flu, no fever. Natural anti-biotic, anti viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal. If you have to do it twice consider taking some nutrients, your immune system is toast. later – jw
Very helpful
“Eating an avocado seed will not kill you, but you should think twice considering the number of toxins in it. Like many seeds, avocado pits contain a small amount of cyanide complexed to larger molecules. When eaten, our bodies convert these compounds to hydrogen cyanide – the active form of the molecule. However, the amount of cyanide in an avocado seed is too small to hurt you.
Among its many bioactive compounds, avocado seeds contain a compound called persin. This chemical has a number of properties that benefit the fruit. It helps protect against decay by fungi, and it inhibits the growth of insects that feed on the seed.
While persin is not directly toxic to humans, its presence in the seeds and fruit of avocado can cause problems under some conditions. One is if you take the anti-cancer drug tamoxifen. Persin causes this drug to become more toxic to cells. Therefore, it is best to avoid eating avocado fruit or seeds if you take tamoxifen.
If you are allergic to latex, you should also avoid avocado fruit. Eating them can trigger the same type of allergic response as latex.”
FROM HEALTHLINE.COM: “Importantly, there is no evidence to show that avocado seed is safe to eat. It’s likely a better idea to have a cup of green tea or handful of berries, rather than taking a risk.
If you do decide to try avocado seed, it might be best to only eat it occasionally to reduce the likelihood of harmful side effects.”