The other day, a good friend mentioned to me that she was delighted she could now buy “mini” avocados as it meant she could eat a whole one at a time rather than leaving half in the fridge. Her eyebrows headed skywards when I told her that I generally eat an avocado a day but often have more.

Come-hither images of mashed avocado on toast are all over Instagram, thanks to the growing army of clean food advocates. Yet still, amongst a huge slice of the population, avocados remain forbidden fruit. A pear-shaped calorie bomb that leaves you looking pear-shaped.

This is what decades of woefully wrong-headed advice on fat has left us with – a stubbornly entrenched, wholly misguided, belief that avocados will make you fat. That, like chocolate truffles, they are an indulgence to be nibbled at and then returned to the fridge.

How ironic that we’re now able to buy downsized, dinky little avocados when the crappy processed junk foods and drinks that surround us are available on tap in ever larger portions. Meanwhile, diet companies are selling their nutritionally bankrupt, sugary, low-cal branded snacks to the same people who are scared of eating an avocado.

We’ve been brainwashed into believing that a low-fat diet paves the way for a flat tummy and a disease-free heart and that fat per se is the bogeyman of food groups. We have our pick of low-fat this and that, thanks to the hijacking of the food industry by the low-fat bandwagon. Meanwhile, our consumption of the good fats that are crucial for every aspect of our physical, mental and emotional health has plummeted.

Let me say loud and clear that fat-phobia deserves to be relegated to the 1980s from whence it came. Far from making us healthier, it’s instead been responsible for the unprecedented and catastrophic rise in consumption of sugar and refined carbs that have made rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes sky rocket.

And if you’re interested in getting the full story on how we’ve been misled on fats and what the right fats can do for you, I highly recommend the new book from best-selling author Dr. Mark Hyman, called Eat Fat Get Thin.

I’m now a fully paid-up evangelist in my bid to persuade people to embrace good fats at every meal. I’m not one for naff car stickers (ditto personalised number plates). That said, I’m so heartily sick of this colossal misconception that’s been perpetrated on the public that I’m sometimes tempted to pimp my car. My new-look vehicle would be emblazoned all over with the words:

It’s SUGAR that’s making you ill and overweight!!! SUGAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stop avoiding fat!! You NEED good fat!!! Eat MORE good fat!

And maybe, for good measure, there’d be a loudspeaker on the roof, so that I can broadcast the message as I drive around Manchester in my fatmobile, perhaps lobbing avocados at passers-by and exhorting them to eat more of them.

Why all the fuss about avocados? Well, they’re nothing short of a miracle food and are one of my very favourite sources of good fats. Like olive oil, they contain the monounsaturated fat that helps boost heart health. Amongst other things, they pack in over 14 minerals, protein, fibre, omega 3 fats, and vitamins B, C, E and K. They regulate your cholesterol and blood sugar and fight inflammation. They feed your brain, allowing it to function optimally. They help protect you from heart disease, diabetes, cancer and degenerative eye and brain diseases. And they’re great for your skin, hair and nails.

As a bonus, studies show that meals which include avocado keep you feeling fuller for longer. And if you’re still worried that eating avocados is going to make you pile on the pounds then think again: good fats increase fat burning and reduce fat storage.

As well as being a nutritional goldmine, avocados are creamy, delicious and super quick to prepare. And they make a great face mask to boot.

Seriously folks, what more could you possibly ask of a food?

Now over to you…how do you get your daily avocado fix?