The avocado is probably one of the healthier food that exist and we can introduce in our diet on a daily basis in many ways. In sandwich, salad, guacamole to dip with carrot sticks, etc.
And this is not what we say, it is confirmed by a study carried out by Alice Lichtenstein and her team, who carried out a research work on the effects of eating an avocado a day for the scientific magazine Journal of the American Heart Associationwhich published the results of its study a week ago.
What did the study consist of
The study consisted of a multicentre, randomized, controlled trial to evaluate whether the consumption of an avocado per day for six months in a population group with a high waist circumference compared to a normal diet, would reduce weight, visceral adiposity and certain metabolic markers.
1008 people were recruited whose inclusion criteria They were the following ones:
- Over 25 years old
- Waist circumference equal to or greater than 89 cm in women and 102 in men
- Avocado consumption of, at most, twice a month (to observe the change of one a day)
Various measurements were made, including liver lipid content, glucose concentrations, triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL, and blood pressure.
What were the results of the study
At the end of the study, several results and conclusions were drawn, among which are:
- Regarding the change in abdominal circumference, there was a similarity between the groups that ate avocado every day and those that did not (neither gained nor lost weight)
- There were also no changes in the visceral tissue, so avocado, despite being a fatty food, does not increase that bad fat and that has so many detrimental effects on our body
- Secondly, yes, there were changes in the level of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (what is known as bad cholesterol). There was a reduction of 2.9 mg/dL and 2.5 mg/dLrespectively, which could be helpful in those who have hypercholesterolemia
We must remind our readers that the random introduction of a food is not going to make us gain or lose weight, since this requires a caloric deficitwhich is to eat fewer calories than we are spending in order to use our fat reserves.
Although we cannot reduce everything to calories either, since food is more important than any single nutrient. Therefore, if you want to lose weight, choose a diet rich in plant sources such as avocado and exercise.
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Images | istock