the Hass avocado cultivar replaced Fuerte as the leading California variety and subsequently became the primary global variety. The Hass avocado contains about 136 g of pleasant, creamy, smooth texture edible fruit covered by a thick dark green, purplish black, and bumpy skin. The avocado seed and skin comprise about 33% of the total whole fruit weight (USDA, 2011). Avocados are a farm-to-market food; they require no processing, preservatives or taste enhancers. The avocado's natural skin eliminates the need for packaging and offers some disease and insect resistance, which allows them to be grown in environmentally sustainable ways. This review provides the first comprehensive literature summary of the published nutrition and health research related to the avocado and its major components.