An Avocado a Day

An AVOCADO a day keeps the doctor away?!

This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, chances are you’ve had an avocado. It’s a source of essential nutrients, jam packed with vitamins and minerals. Avocado toast may be expensive, but could it also be the key to heart health? 

Alice Lichtenstein at Tufts University and team sought to find out.

They recruited over one thousand overweight participants for a randomized trial. Half of the participants consumed one avocado daily with their regular diet. Meanwhile, the other half limited avocado consumption. Fat around the abdomen was then measured using advanced imaging techniques. They also measured blood cholesterol, a type of fat that may be bad for your heart.

In the daily avocado group, they observed lower cholesterol and no increases in body weight! 

Maybe the answer to heart problems really does grow on trees! 

All that’s left to say is: holy guacamole! Put that on your RYE and TOAST it!  


Reference: Lichtenstein AH, Kris Etherton PM, Petersen KS, et al. Effect of Incorporating 1 Avocado Per Day Versus Habitual Diet on Visceral Adiposity: A Randomized Trial. J Am Heart Assoc. 2022;0(0):e025657. doi:10.1161/JAHA.122.025657