Need an excuse to eat more avocados?
An analysis of the data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001-2008 data, involving over 17,000 adults in the USA, revealed that people who consumed avocados regularly more closely adhered to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans than those who did not eat avocados, as measured by the Healthy Eating Index.
An average daily consumption of one-half of a medium sized avocado correlated with significantly higher levels of important nutrients including 36% more dietary fibre, 23% more vitamin E, 13% more magnesium, 16% more potassium and 48% more vitamin K than non-consumers.
Also, Avocado consumers had significantly higher intakes of ‘good’ fats (18% more monounsaturated and 12% more polyunsaturated) and total fats (11% more) than non-consumers, although average caloric intake of both groups was the same.
These consumption trends translated into physiological benefits such as: consumers had a significantly lower body mass index, consumers had significantly smaller waist measurements (an average of 4cm smaller), and consumers had significantly higher HDL (good) Cholesterol levels.
Importantly, the study found that avocado consumers had a 50% lower odds ratio for metabolic syndrome compared to non-consumers.
So there you have it folks, get some avo’ into you!
Reference
Victor L Fulgoni, Mark Dreher, Adrienne J Davenport. “Avocado consumption is associated with better diet quality and nutrient intake, and lower metabolic syndrome risk in US adults: results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001-2008.” Nutrition Journal 2013, 12:1; 2 January 2013.