Results of a new study published in The Journal of Nutrition concluded that daily avocado consumption can have beneficials effects on blood glucose regulation.

Insulin resistance is a major risk factor in the development of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diets emphasizing unsaturated fatty acids are associated with improved insulin sensitivity and blood glucose regulation. Avocados, which are rich in healthy unsaturated fatty acids, micronutrients, and fiber, have been shown to improve post-meal blood glucose and insulin concentrations. Expanding on current knowledge, researcher Britt Burton-Freeman (Center for Nutrition Research and Institute for Food Safety and Health, Illinois Institute of Technology) and colleagues assessed replacement of carbohydrate energy with avocado energy on blood glucose regulation and cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight or obese adults with insulin resistance.

A total of 97 adults that completed the study were randomly assigned to consume an avocado or an energy-equivalence of a low-fat/low-fiber/high-carbohydrate control food daily for 12 weeks. Food intake was monitored weekly using a self-administered 24-hour dietary assessment tool. Study assessments, which were performed before and after the 12-week intervention, included anthropometric variables (height, weight, waist circumference, and body composition), fasting blood glucose and insulin concentrations, and other measures of cardiometabolic risk (blood lipids, blood pressure, vascular dysfunction, and inflammation).

Study results showed that daily avocado intake for 12 weeks had beneficial effects on blood glucose. Furthermore, avocado intake was associated with healthier dietary patterns.  In addition to improved blood glucose control, trends favored reduced biomarkers of cardiometabolic risk when replacing avocado energy for carbohydrate energy in adults who are overweight or with obesity and have insulin resistance. Not only are avocados nutrient-rich, but this easily implemented dietary intervention can also be impactful on overall health status.

References

Xuhuiqun Zhang, Di Xiao, Gabriela Guzman, Indika Edirisinghe, Britt Burton-Freeman, Avocado Consumption for 12 Weeks and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Adults with Overweight or Obesity and Insulin Resistance, The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 152, Issue 8, August 2022, Pages 1851–1861, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxac126.

Images via canva.com.

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Kathy Beerman, PhD

Dr. Kathy Beerman teaches in the School of Biological Sciences at Washington State University. The author of several published articles, she is interested in research that focuses on the efficacy of a novel approach to treating iron deficiency anemia in rural regions of Guatemala and Ecuador. Dr. Beerman teaches an undergraduate nutrition course for health majors, as well as a course that prepares students to participate in a 10-day medical mission to Guatemala. Since joining the faculty at Washington State University in 1990, she has been the recipient of several teaching awards (the Burlington Northern Faculty Meritorious Achievement in Teaching Award, the R.M. Wade Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Sahlin Faculty Excellence Award for Instruction). More recently, she received the CAS Outstanding Achievement Award in International Activities (2017) and the President’s Award for Leadership (2018). Other scholarly activities include co-author of two introductory nutrition textbooks (Nutritional Sciences: From Fundamentals to Food and NUTR).