May is one of the big months for avocado consumption in the United States, thanks to all those Cinco de Mayo parties featuring bowls of guacamole. Super Bowl Sunday is the other big day -- actually the biggest day -- for U.S. avocado consumption.

In case you were wondering, scooping your way through a big bowl of mashed avocados and salsa does have the potential to significantly boost your daily caloric intake. But it probably doesn't do as much damage to your diet as you might think.

No doubt about it, avocados are loaded with fat and calories. Like many other fruits. avocados are mostly made up of water, about 72 percent by weight. Still, an average California avocado stripped of skin and seed weighs around 6 ounces and packs about 300 calories, 90 percent of which are derived from fat.

The good news, however, is that more than 80 percent of that fat is monounsaturated, a type that's been found to lower blood levels of the "bad" cholesterol linked to heart disease. The only other commonly consumed food product with a similar fat profile is olive oil, the darling of health-food advocates. Avocados are also loaded with potassium, a nutrient also linked to good coronary health.

Avocados are the fourth-most valuable crop grown in Ventura County, worth $125 million in 2004, according to the Agricultural Commissioner's Office. By acreage, they rank No. 2, with 19,234 harvested acreage (only lemons cover more of the county's cropland).

If eaten in moderation, there'' no reason to avoid avocados and a few good reasons to include them in your diet. That, of course, is a message the California Avocado Commission and other industry groups spend lots of time and money trying to deliver. Americans consume about 2.9 pounds of avocados per person each year, and U.S. growers -- worried about the depressing effects of over-production on price -- have a hopeful eye on Mexico as a model. The average resident of that country consumes nearly 20 pounds per year.