Eat an avocado a day for a healthy diet

In guacamole, in a salad or on toast with smoked salmon… Avocado is a favorite food both at breakfast and as an aperitif. And that’s good because consuming it will allow us to have a healthier diet overall. This is according to a study from the University of Pennsylvania (United States), published in February 2024 in the journal. Current developments in nutrition.

The researchers wanted to know if eating an avocado a day makes a person’s diet healthier overall, and if it reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease (diabetes, obesity, heart disease, etc.). So they measured the Healthy Eating Index, also called the HEI-2015, in 1,008 American adults with abdominal obesity (72% of whom were women). This index measures the quality of an individual’s diet in relation to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The participants were divided into two groups. The first was asked to consume one avocado per day (about 168 grams). Participants in the second group were told not to make any changes to their diet and limit their consumption of avocados to twice a month. After 26 weeks, the researchers compared their university scores as well as cardiovascular disease risk factors.

More vegetables, less salt and sugar

Conclusion. “Eating one avocado per day for 26 weeks contributed to nutrition closer to the US Dietary Guidelines,” said Christina Petersen, co-author of the study. A greater increase in the BUH-2015 score was observed in the group that used avocado.” And this without any difference depending on Body Mass Index or age group. Participants in the first group actually consumed more fruits and vegetables and less sodium (salt), refined grains, red meat, saturated fat and added sugar than adults in the group who did not change their diet.

No effect on cardiometabolic risk

Since a quality diet is strongly associated with better health, the study also aimed to establish a link between daily avocado consumption and reduced risk factors for cardiovascular disease. “Changes in university scores over the 26-week period did not predict such a reduction in risk,” the conclusion reads. “Further research is needed to determine the extent to which dietary quality can be improved to reduce these risk factors,” the researchers said.

Finally, the researchers previously tried to test whether consuming one avocado per day for 26 weeks would “reduce visceral adiposity in a group of people with abdominal obesity.” And the results were negative.