Fats? In fruits and vegetables?

Fats? In fruits and vegetables?

Absolutely. We’re so conditioned to equating fats with meat that it may come as a surprise that fruits and vegetables also contain fats. In fact, one fruit in particular contains quite a bit of fat.

After I sent you the e-Alert “Good Hearted Nurses” (11/16/06), I received this e-mail from an HSI member named Joan: “Could someone please explain to me the following sentence: ‘fat and protein come from vegetables sources primarily’? What vegetables are primary sources of fat and protein?”

Taken out of context, the sentence seems to suggest that vegetables are a primary source of fat and protein. But I was referring to a few specific study participants whose personal fat and protein intake came primarily from vegetables.

So you won’t get an abundance of fats from vegetables, but you will get some. For instance, a cup of Hubbard squash contains more than a gram of fat, while a cup of mushrooms and a cup of Brussels sprouts each contain nearly a gram of fat.

And when you think of watermelon, you probably don’t think of fat, but a cup of watermelon contains almost a gram, as do a cup of raspberries, a cup of pineapple, and an eight-ounce tomato. But none of these come close to the fat content of an avocado. A medium avocado contains more than 30 grams of monounsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids.