17 Benefits of Avocado Oil for Skin, Hair and Health!

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The avocado oil is not a recent trend. The sixteenth-century Spanish historian Bernabé Cobo, who visited America in 1596, also reported on the use of avocado oil for cooking. Food historian Sophie D. Coe writes in America’s First Cuisines that, with a high oil content of 30% in her meat, avocado was a staple in the low-fat diet of pre-Columbian America.And why not? The benefits of avocado oil for skin , hair and health include hydration, the fight against sun damage, the reduction of signs of aging, the healing of acne, psoriasis and wounds, the treatment of dandruff, Heart disease and cancer prevention, pain and inflammation relief, fat burning and eye protection. Avocado oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit and not from the seed. It is better to use the type of unrefined extra-virgin, cold pressed, which retains some of the nutrients that could otherwise be lost in the heat of the conventional extraction process. Water-soluble vitamins such as B and C, however, are lost during extraction.

While cooking with avocado oil has not yet become popular, the cosmetic industry takes advantage of the many benefits of avocado oil for skin and hair. Many creams, cleansers, moisturizers and sunscreens contain avocado oil. Here is why.

1. Provides Deep Hydration:

Avocado oil can penetrate the second layer of the skin (dermis) and provide deep hydration with its oleic acid and phytosterols. People who have a dry and sensitive skin type are often advised to use oils rich in oleic acid. The lecithin in avocado oil helps stimulate collagen, and the carotenoids pro-vitamin A lutein and zeaxanthin improve the skin’s natural antioxidant pool. This makes the oil an ideal night cream that helps in the skin repair process. Unlike most night creams, it contains the antioxidant vitamin E, which is essential to undo the harmful effects of UV rays found during the day. The harmful effects to the sun’s skin may continue long after it has been exposed.

2. Prevents Sun Damage to the Skin:

For most people, exposure to the sun and its harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays is inevitable. As a result, the skin suffers damage in the form of photoaging or premature aging of the skin. These rays have the power to damage DNA and cause skin cancer. Tanning beds and sunlamps are equally harmful. Studies have found that avocados, and by extension avocado oil, can prevent and treat skin damage, thanks to their PFA. In one study, when PFA was injected into skin cells before they were exposed to UVB rays:

  • The skin cells showed a greater resilience.
  • The secretion of chemicals that induce inflammation decreased.
  • DNA repair was improved.

PFA can also repair skin cells already damaged by UV rays.

“Together with PFA, vitamin E helps fight UVA and reverses skin damage”.

That said, applying only the oil before sunbathing might not be a good idea. Instead, use a sunscreen enriched with avocado. After returning from the sun, clean your face and apply some oil or avocado pulp to help repair the skin.

3. Combat the Signs of Aging:

Avocado oil has benefits not only for sun-damaged skin, but for any skin that shows signs of natural aging such as wrinkles, dryness and sagging.

  • Vitamin E and avocado lecithin help boost the skin’s collagen, giving it firmness.
  • Vitamin E and carotenoids also prevent inflammation and prevent wrinkles from appearing on the skin.
  • The fatty acids in avocado oil penetrate the second layer of the skin, moisturizing it well and preventing dryness and wrinkles related to aging.

Simply apply some cold-pressed organic avocado oil on your face at night and wake up with a soft, hydrated skin in the morning.

4. Prevents and Treats Acne:

You can prevent and cure acne using avocado oil. This oil keeps the skin hydrated without leaving too much fat, which reduces the risk of acne. It can also help with its linoleic acid content since the lack of linoleate in sebum-producing skin cells is related to acne.

5. Relieves Eczema and Psoriasis:

It has been found that avocado oil mixed with vitamin B12 relieves the symptoms of psoriasis, a condition in which skin cells accumulate to form dry, scaly, itchy spots on the skin. In this, avocado oil and the B12 mixture is even more portentous than a vitamin E cream.

6. Heal Wounds Faster:

An animal study in the journal Evidence-based Alternative and Competitive Medicine found that avocado oil heals wounds better than petroleum jelly. The oil reduces inflammation and makes the skin firmer and stronger by increasing the density of collagen and the tensile strength of the skin.

7. Can Reduce Dark Circles:

It is difficult to find a soft cream under the eyes to remove dark circles and wrinkles. The ability of avocado oil to penetrate the second layer of the skin and spread well makes it good for the delicate skin around the eyes. It can also help with dark circles, since it also contains vitamin A and E which, combined with vitamin C and K, are known to help reduce dark circles and wrinkles under the eyes.

8. Help Hair Growth:

In addition to its monounsaturated fats such as oleic acid that moisturizes the scalp, avocado oil contains vitamin D, which is crucial for the generation of new hair follicles. Some researchers claim that vitamin D is vital for people suffering from hair loss.

9. Fight Dandruff:

Dandruff is the result of dry scalp. With its monounsaturated fats, avocado oil can prevent the formation of dandruff by relieving dry scalp. Avocado oil can also cure dandruff caused by psoriasis. But avoid avocado oil if dandruff is caused by seborrheic dermatitis, since it is known that oleic acid worsens desquamation.

10. Can Improve Nail Health:

If you have rough, dry and brittle nails, avocado oil can help. It can penetrate deeply into the inner layers of the nail cuticle and provide adequate hydration and nutrition to the nails. Apply avocado-based cuticle oil or rub the extra virgin oil on your nails.

11. Decreases the Risk of Heart Disease:

If you do not have access to fresh avocados or do not like the taste of the fruit, cook your dishes with extra virgin, cold pressed or virgin avocado oil. Although the extraction process can eliminate water-soluble vitamins and fiber, the oil will still contain a lot of healthy monounsaturated fats. Only 1 tablespoon of oil contains 14 g of fat, of which 9.8 g are monounsaturated and 1.8 g polyunsaturated. Use unrefined oil for light cooking and as a salad dressing. The refining, with a high “smoke point” of 255 ° C, much higher than that of olive oil, can be used for frying. The fatty acids and vegetable sterols of avocado oil make it good for people with high cholesterol. While raising good HDL cholesterol, it reduces both LDL and triglycerides. For people with normal cholesterol levels, you can maintain the balance between HDL and LDL. Avocado oil also fights inflammation in the body, thus reducing the risk of heart disease.

12. Fight Inflammation:

As mentioned earlier, most of the fat found in avocado oil is oleic acid, which reduces inflammation in the body. In one study, it was observed that high sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, a marker of inflammation in the body, were inversely related to the intake of oleic acid. This anti-inflammatory effect is what gives avocado oil the power to reduce the risk of heart disease and cure arthritis-related pain, which brings us to the next point.

13. May Improve Arthritis Symptoms:

According to the Arthritis Foundation, avocado is the fruit that should be eaten to relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis, a painful condition that causes inflammation of the joints. In addition to oleic acid, carotenoid lutein and vitamin E in avocado oil can help relieve symptoms with its anti-inflammatory properties and help reduce the risk of joint damage. In one study, one part of avocado oil mixed with two parts of soybean oil could help block inflammation, reduce degeneration of the cells lining the joints and even regenerate normal connective tissue. This extract was found effective in the treatment of patients with symptomatic hip osteoarthritis.

14. Increases the Absorption of Certain Nutrients:

Help sprinkle some avocado oil in your fruit salads or cook your carrots in the oil. The antioxidant carotenoids in food need an oily base to be absorbed by the body where it helps in this. One study found that adding avocado oil to a salad could significantly increase the absorption of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and lutein.

15. Improves Eye Health:

The carotenoids lutein and xeazanthin are good for the eyes. In fact, lack of lutein in the diet could cause age-related eye dysfunction. But diets rich in monounsaturated fatty acids have a protective effect against this dysfunction since they help in the absorption of these carotenoids. This combination of carotenoid and monounsaturated fatty acids is what makes this oil good for eye health.

16. Help in Weight Loss:

When you are trying to lose weight, it is important to choose the right cooking oil. Most of the nutrients, other than fiber, that make avocados good for weight loss also make this oil a good cooking oil when you’re trying to lose weight. Avocado fruit oil has high oleic acid content, and it has been seen that a diet containing oleic acid can increase physical activity by 13.5% and postprandial metabolism by 4.5% compared to a rich diet in saturated fats. By increasing insulin sensitivity in the body and improving glucose metabolism, it also helps distribute fat throughout the body and not just in the belly.

17. Help Prevent and Treat Cancer:

The oleic acid in the oil, as well as carotenoids and vitamin E can control the growth of precancerous and cancerous cells and even induce cell death in abnormal cells. Carotenoids also reduce the side effects of chemotherapy. Remember to always buy the unrefined version, cold pressed, extra virgin, whether you want to cook with this oil or use it for your skin and hair.