Avocados May Help Wounds Heal

[Harry Hirsute]

OBJECTIVE: Avocado (Persea americana) oil is rich in nutrient waxes, proteins and minerals, as well as vitamins A, D and E. It is an excellent source of enrichment for dry, damaged or chapped skin. This study aimed to evaluate the wound-healing activity of fruit extract of Persea americana in rats.

METHOD: The effect of topical and oral administration of Persea americana fruit extract (300 mg/kg/day) on excision and dead space wound models was evaluated. The rats used in the excision wound model were divided into four groups of five each and received either topical or oral treatment.

The rats used in the dead space wound model were divided into two groups of five each and were treated orally. Healing was assessed by the rate of wound contraction, period of epithelialisation, granulation tissue weight and hydoxyproline content.

RESULTS: In the excision wound model, complete healing (full epithelialisation) was observed on average on day 14 in the rats who receive oral or topical treatment. In contrast, the controls took approximately 17 days to heal completely.

The extract-treated wounds were found to epithelialise faster than the controls (p < 0.001). Wet and dry granulation tissue weight and the hydroxyproline content of the tissue obtained from extract-treated animals used in the dead space wound model were significantly higher (p < 0.05) compared with the controls.

CONCLUSION: Rate of wound contraction, epithelialisation time together with the hydroxyproline content and histological observations support the use of Persea americana in the management of wound healing.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum

[daisycolors65]

Avocado's are wonderful for healing inside and outside the body. They contain monumental amounts of vitamins and minerals which are essential for building healthy cells in the body. Avocado's contain a significant amount of lutein which provides our bodies a buffering to acid and they are high in monounsaturated fat which is known to lower cholesterol. Sounds like a delicious fruit to eat daily. I have found a fabulous unscented moisturizer, "pHorever sopH skin". It is made with avocado oil and aloe vera.

[Arrowwind09]

They are also extremely high in potassium. Forget bananas.

[scorpiotiger]

they are also delicious!!! just cut up, with a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of salt.. YUM!!!

anyone have any good avocado recipes?

[Harry Hirsute]

Originally Posted by scorpiotiger

anyone have any good avocado recipes?

Well, it's not really a recipe but I love wrapping a piece of prosciutto around a slice of avocado (or two, or three, or four ...) and having that as a delicious low-carb snack.

Avocados are also excellent for the prostate (due to their sitosterol content), helpful for the eyes (due to their highly-absorbable form of lutein) and a good aid for the bones (due to their vitamin K content - with the fatty acids to help with it's absorption).