By Taibat (Tai) Ibitoye, RD, University of Reading — The Conversation, 6 April 2022
Eating two or more servings of avocado a week may cut your risk of cardiovascular disease by 16%, according to a new study. Researchers at Harvard University analysed data from two large US studies — the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study and the Nurses’ Health Study — following more than 110,000 men and women for up to 30 years. Those who ate two or more servings of avocado each week (a serving being half an avocado, about 80g) had a 16% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 21% lower risk of coronary heart disease compared with those who rarely or never ate the fruit. Replacing half a serving a day of egg, butter, cheese, margarine or processed red meat with the same amount of avocado was associated with a 16%–22% lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
One of the big limitations is that the participants were mostly white healthcare professionals, which means the findings might not apply to other population groups. This type of study is also observational, meaning it cannot prove that eating avocados reduces cardiovascular disease risk — it can only show a probable link. The researchers also found that those with higher avocado intakes also had better diet quality overall, eating more fruit, vegetables, whole grains and nuts. This shows that no single food is the solution to preventing heart disease; having an overall healthy, balanced diet with a variety of nutritious foods is key to promoting good heart health.
If avocados are not to your taste or budget, you could consider including peanut butter, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, rapeseed oil, olive oil, olives and seeds such as pumpkin and sesame seeds in your diet instead, as these are also great sources of monounsaturated fats — the heart-healthy fat found in avocados. This article has been republished under Creative Commons licence.