Consuming an avocado per day could help you improve the quality of your diet. This is what researchers from the American University Penn State have highlighted. We’ll explain it to you.
With its creamy texture, its pretty green color and its “healthy” properties, the avocado is trendy and very popular, especially among those who want to pay attention to their diet. This is also why we find it almost everywhere in the recipes offered on social networks (guacamole, toast, salads, etc.). If this fruit from Mexico is so healthy, it is because it is rich in nutrients, especially fiber. Furthermore, scientists have discovered that eating it every day could help you improve the overall quality of your diet.
Consuming an avocado daily helps you eat healthier
Based on the interesting nutritional benefits of avocado, researchers have carried out a new study to find out if regular consumption could improve the quality of the diet. As part of this study, 1008 participants were selected, then divided into two groups. The first followed his usual diet, avoiding consuming avocado, while the second consumed this food once a day. Participants followed this instruction for 26 weeks.
The results ? Co-author of the study, Kristina Petersen reports: “Participants who consumed an avocado per day significantly increased their adherence to nutritional recommendations.” This means that the group in question favors fruits, vegetables, whole grains and vegetable oils or protein foods while limiting alcoholic beverages, red meat, added sugars, sodium and even saturated fats.
A healthier substitute to combat health problems
With such results, the researchers suggest that “Eating an avocado a day could help people follow institutional dietary recommendations and thus improve the quality of their diet”.
Furthermore, Kristina Petersen notes that “participants generally ate avocado to replace certain foods high in refined grains and sodium” and generally used it as “substitute for some less healthy options”.
On the other hand, in this study, the researchers categorized avocados as vegetables (remember that it is a fruit even if these culinary uses make it closer to a vegetable). They then found that eating an avocado per day led to an overall increase in vegetable consumption.
In addition to improving the quality of the diet, eating this food once a day would contribute to reducing the risk of the onset of chronic diseases such as heart problems, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease or even obesity. So, this habit would help “extend healthy life expectancy”, assures the head of the study.
NO to diets, YES to WW!
A good habit that must be complemented by others…
This type of study highlights simple ways to improve diet quality. However, eating one avocado a day is far from enough to ensure a healthy diet and see positive changes. Indeed, as the head of the study explains: “Complementary behavioral strategies are also needed to help people meet nutritional recommendations and reduce their risk of chronic disease.”
Conclusion: avocado is a good way to help you eat better, but it must be accompanied by other good eating habits!
Slide: The 10 benefits of avocado
