Is avocado toast healthy?

Avocado toasts consist of toasted bread that is topped with a ripe mashed or sliced avocado. As nutritious as it is, being healthy a meal for you will depend on several factors including but not limited to serving sizes, type of additional toppings, and your current state of health or health needs.

The serving size of an avocado is about a third of the average-sized fruit. Taking way beyond the serving size each time could mean walking out of a healthy meal zone. Though an avocado toast snack or meal is very healthy for the most part, a lot of times people add extra toppings like cheese and bacon which are not as healthy.

People with existing health conditions like diabetes and heart disease are generally thought to benefit more from eating avocado toast but research has shown there is something to be careful about if you have any of these health problems.

The health impact of avocado toast.

Avocado toast is one of the healthiest meals or snacks you can think of. It’s ideal for people of all ages and offers loads of health benefits above most of its alternatives. Its impact on your health is a combination of the benefits or risks associated with its two major ingredients which are avocado and toasted bread.

Avocados

Avocados are low carbs and highly nutritious¹ The US Department of Agriculture. (governmental authority) visit source fatty fruits. Over 70% of an avocado consists of monounsaturated fatty acids with tremendous health benefits like reduction of your risk of developing metabolic syndrome.² National Library of Medicine. (governmental authority) visit source  (cited: June 10th, 2022) Oleic acids in avocado reduce your risk of cardiovascular diseases.³ National Center for Biotechnology Information. (governmental authority) visit source (cited: June 10th, 2022) 

They are also very rich in fiber that promotes gut health and weight loss,⁴ National Library of Medicine. (governmental authority) visit source (cited: June 10th, 2022)  plus folate that helps you fight both existing cancers and reduce your risk of the disease.

However, just as much as eating too much of anything is bad, these health benefits don’t mean you should eat avocados without minding your portion sizes.

Toasts.

Nutrition facts about bread differ among the different types available. A slice of whole wheat bread weighing 32g is significantly very rich in nutrients⁵ FoodData Central (usda.gov). visit source  additionally, toasting the bread is not only known to improve the taste through a process called the Maillard reaction⁶ American Chemical Society. (trusted source) visit source  but further boosts the health benefits.

Whole-grain bread is your best bet in making the healthiest and most nutritious avocado toasts as white bread is known to have been stripped of some of its nutrients. Toasted bread in simple terms has additional health benefits over raw bread such as:

1. Ease of digestion: The chemical processes that occur in the bread during toasting render it easier to digest than raw bread. So if you are someone struggling with the digestion of raw bread, the toasted version leaves you with an option

2. Lower glycemic index: Studies have shown there is a reduction in the glycemic index of toasted bread as against raw one. The difference isn’t a whole lot but should mean a lot more for diabetics who love bread.

3. Nauseation reduction: It eases nauseating feelings, especially when toasted with milk. However, milk in your diet may not be right for you if you have flu.

4. Diarrhea reduction: Toasted bread is one of the BRAT (Banana, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast) diets that are recommended for anyone having diarrhea. It offers effective relief from the problem.

5. Fat content reduction: There is a reduction in the fat content of toasted bread compared to raw one. Eating more toast should be embraced by anyone concerned about fat buildup in the body.

6. Energy supply: The reduction of glycemic index by toasting provides you with more carbs for energy with less effect on your blood sugar levels. This allows some diabetics to enjoy some bread with reduced risks of blood sugar spikes though the quantity of the toast matters.

Eating so much of it in the belief your blood sugar won’t rise as it does with raw bread is misleading. Moderation is essential. The bottom line is that an equal amount of bread will result in less increase in your blood sugar level when toasted than when eaten raw.

Is avocado toast a healthy breakfast?

Studies have shown that breakfasts play significant roles in controlling appetite and weight loss programs.⁷ National Library of Medicine. (governmental authority) visit source  (cited June 13th, 2022)⁸American Society for Nutrition (scholarly source) visit source   With the commendable nutritious and health benefits in each of the main components of an avocado toast as discussed earlier, you’ll agree it’s an excellent meal to start your day.

They provide you with the much-needed energy to get on with your activities of daily living with less likelihood of blood sugar spikes in addition to various nutrients and vitamins your body needs to function optimally.

Is avocado toast healthy for dinner, and lunch?

As we’ve seen in the earlier sections, avocado toast is a great combination of two highly nutritious foods with tremendous health benefits. It is often taken as a light meal for breakfast, dinner, or part of the main dish but how healthy is it when taken at any of these times?

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Lunch.

Lunch is generally believed to be the heaviest meal anyone should have in a day. Avocado toasts are relatively lighter meals. Whereas for diabetics it may just be all they need, but for some people, it may be too light for a lunch except where it’s just part of the entire menu. Taking it as a meal for lunch could mean taking more of it than is healthy.

Remember the recommended one serving of avocado is just a 3rd of a medium-sized fruit and a single toast could contain the whole of an avocado especially if bought from a restaurant. Imagine taking a couple of those in a single meal.

As mentioned before, avocado toast is a great and highly nutritious healthy meal for most people but there is a need for moderation. Eating so much of it to achieve satiety during lunch hours may amount to taking over the healthy fats and other nutrients it contains. This may lead to undesirable metabolic or health consequences if carried on for extended periods.

Since the protein content of avocado toasts leaves much to be desired, I wouldn’t mind if I have to take it with a reasonable amount of a source of protein, like chicken, for lunch. I believe this should also apply to diabetics who want to keep carbs in check. By this, one could achieve satisfaction without taking too much toast or carbs.

Dinner.

The question is, if avocado is great for breakfast, why not for dinner?

Though avocado toast can be taken as any meal of the day, for the sake of moderation, I recommend it as a sole meal for either breakfast or dinner only but not for lunch, except in situations where maintaining light meals becomes a goal.

Is avocado toast healthy for weight loss?

Yes, avocado on toast made from whole grain bread is rich in fibers and whole grains which are both frequently associated with weight loss⁹ Nutrition. Dietary fiber and body weight. (scholarly source) visit source  . The rich monounsaturated content is also a known agent of weight loss even among the obese¹⁰ National Library of Medicine: Effects of unsaturated fatty acids on weight loss, body composition, and obesity-related biomarkers. (governmental authority) visit source  (cited. June 13th, 2022)

However, let us not forget the principle of weight loss or gain. So long as you are taking fewer calories than you burn out from activities and exercises you’ll lose weight but taking more than your body uses up will lead to weight gain.

In as much as avocado toast can reliably aid any weight loss journey, eating too much of it can make you gain weight instead. In summary, portion sizes often matter in weight loss just as much as what is eaten.

Is it healthy to eat avocado toast every day?

It can be healthy to eat avocado toast every day provided you stick to recommended healthy servings but who won’t get bored eventually? A serving of avocado is about a 3rd of avocado fruit. Though you may be fine exceeding that a bit sometimes, I won’t recommend eating way too many servings daily, however, it’s healthy to take it every day.

Just enjoy your daily avocado toasts but with moderation. The toast is another reason you should be mindful of portion sizes as it significantly increases the total calories. If that means nothing to you, maybe I should let you know there is a downside to toasted bread you may not have heard.

When you subject your raw bread to heating, the heat raises the presence of things called Advanced Glycation End products(AGEs) via the Maillard reaction mentioned earlier in this article. AGEs are typically mild bad news for diabetics as it presents a pathway to complications such as diabetic-
• Neuropathy,
• Retinopathy,
• and Nephropathy.¹¹ National Library of Medicine. (governmental authority) visit source 

Other issues that may come from AGEs include inflammation and chronic metabolic diseases¹² National Library of Medicine. (governmental authority) visit source  (cited: June 13th, 2022). Nonetheless, these are not meant to discourage you from enjoying your avocado toast delicacy.