Medziner avocado-hand Popular green fruit with often unknown health risk

When removing cores, more and more patients are injured
Scald with hot water, slip on a freshly washed soil or cut your fingers when peeling onions - these are household risks that anyone should know. But why only the avocado represents an increased risk of injury, only a few would know. Cutting and coring would "more and more people injure themselves acutely," reports vice president of the UK Hand Surgery Society, Simon Eccles. Although the consumption of green fruits has risen rapidly in recent years, only a few still know how to cut the fruit adequately and accident-free, which is why the doctors within the clinic also call this type of wounds the "avocado hand".

Avocados have been growing in popularity for a long time. The high-fat fruit is eaten pure on the bread, used as a main ingredient for guacamole or drunk in the smoothie. Fresh avocados are not only delicious but also very healthy. In addition to the healthy vegetable fats, the fruit contains numerous vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. According to research, avocados can help lower cholesterol and are good for blood formation. In addition to the health benefits but also threatens dangers - at least if handled incorrectly with the fruits.

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As the vice president of the British Hand Surgery Society told The Times, increasing consumption is also leading to a "consequent increase in injuries". Many do not know how to cut an avocado correctly.

This is how to cut an avocado properly

His colleague Simon Eccles, who works as a specialist in plastic surgery in London, says so too. In one week alone, the doctor had to care for four patients who would have had a hand-cut wound when cutting the green fruit. That's why the doctors call the injuries inside the clinic "avocado hand".

With their reference, the doctors want to draw attention to the dangers. "People do not expect that avocados can be very ripe when they buy, and they have virtually no idea about their handling," says the doctor. For this reason, both plead for "clear warnings" to reduce the injuries. So should be on a label that sticks to the fruit, a kind of diagram to be displayed, the doctors demand. This should alert consumers to the risks of removing the big kernel from the fruit.

Not only cut properly, wash too!
As experts at the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (USA) explain on their website, avocados must always be washed before preparation.

It is best to clean the fruits with cold or lukewarm water and scrub them lightly. Because on the hubby shell of the fruit bumble bacteria and pesticides, which can reach when cutting with a knife in the pulp. (Sb)