Are you falling for the Avocado Toast Culture?

My father-in-law is a top drawer fella. I can’t begin to list off this lad's qualities. I’d be here all day and run out of internet space most likely.

If he has any flaws whatsoever, apart from liking The Eagles (overrated much) it’s that he measures love in food consumed. He is not alone in this affliction as I am sure many of your reading this are thinking “I bet he doesn’t make 6 different types of pie every Thanksgiving and then ask you to try all of them like my mother does”...well yes, he does. But I digress.

One of the things that always strikes me about this is that many people are of the opinion that if it's all-natural, organic, whole, or extra virgin, then more is better (he’s a good cook and likes to get the best ingredients).

Molly has some thoughts about Avocado Toast too.

I can’t say this clearly enough, but organic, extra virgin or not, it's got the same(ish) calories in it that the nonorganic version has, and often, it has more.

Since we all know that calories are the root of all body composition change (if you are new here, Welcome - first things first - calories are the root of all body composition - thanks for joining) whether its organic or not, vegetable or not, all-natural or not, or from whole foods or not, has no bearing on that.

I call this “Avocado Toast Culture”.

A few years back the avocado made a meteoric rise in popularity (frequently accompanied by multigrain toast and aesthetically pleasing poached eggs) where it was touted as “healthy”.

There is no doubt that avocados, though not my personal favorite, are a nutritious food. And, at the same time, they are comparatively high in calories to most other fruits/veg since they are made up of 70%-ish fiber (let's say net 0 calories for ease), 7% carbs, and the rest, well it’s is fat.

“But it’s good fat. Healthy fat. Monounsaturated fat.”

Well then, I guess I will load up on it. Not so fast. A whole avocado has about 200 cals in it. That's 2 bananas or 2 apples, or a quest bar, and chances are you aren't eating 1 avocado on its own like you would 1 of these items. It comes with toast and eggs etc.

I am not saying this to villainize avocados obviously. That's not my thing. I like to leave fearmongering to the daytime TV crowd. They have it covered. I also recognize as an experienced nutrition coach and eater of food in general, that fat is both necessary and enjoyable.

What I am saying is that it behooves us to think about the outcome we are aiming for. If our goal is calorie deficit for example, then there are likely more efficient choices than avocado toast, no matter how much of the “good fats” and fiber it has in it. 

Similarly, just because it's whole-wheat doesn't mean we need a whole loaf, and just because it’s whole milk doesn't mean we need a whole pint.

There is no substitute for the hard data of nutrition science principles. Choose foods that help you work towards your goal by thinking objectively about the needs of achieving that goal. If you arent sure what they are or where to start, shoot me an email/DM with your questions and I can try to point you in the right direction. 

Cheers!