For a healthy diet, eat an avocado a day

In guacamole, in a salad or on toast with smoked salmon… avocado is a favorite food both for brunch and as an aperitif. And that’s good, because its consumption will allow us to have an overall healthier diet. This is according to a study from the University of Pennsylvania (United States) published in the journal February 2024. Current Developments in Nutrition.

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The researchers wanted to know if eating an avocado every day makes one’s diet healthier overall and if it reduces the risk of cardiometabolic diseases (diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, etc.). So they measured the Healthy Eating Index, also called HEI-2015, in 1008 American adults suffering from abdominal obesity (72% of whom were women). This index measures the quality of a person’s diet in relation to the American Dietary Guidelines (Dietary Guidelines for Americans). The participants were divided into two groups. The first was told to eat one avocado (about 168 grams) per day. Participants in the second group were told not to change their diet and limit their avocado consumption to two per month. After 26 weeks, the scientists compared their HEI scores as well as their risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases.

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More vegetables, less salt and sugar

Conclusion? “Eating one avocado per day for 26 weeks promotes nutrition closer to the American Dietary Guidelines,” reports study co-author Christina Peterson. The avocado-consuming group had a greater increase in HEI-2015 scores.” And this, without any differences based on body mass index or age group. Participants in the first group actually ate more fruits and vegetables and less sodium (salt), refined grains, red meat, Saturated fatty acids and added sugars than adults in the group that did not change the diet.

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No effect on cardiometabolic risk

Since a quality diet is strongly associated with better health, the study also aimed to establish a relationship between daily consumption of avocados and reduction in risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases. “Changes in HEI scores over the 26-week period did not predict such reductions in risk,” the conclusion states. “Further research is needed to determine the extent to which dietary quality can be improved to reduce these risk factors,” the scientists say.

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