Two servings of avocado per week may lower risk for CVD, CHD
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Two servings of avocado per week, compared with not eating any avocado, was associated with lower risk for CVD and CHD, but not stroke, researchers reported.
According to data published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, replacing half of one daily serving of margarine, butter, egg, yogurt, cheese or processed meats with avocado was tied to lower risk for CVD.
“Avocados are a nutrient-rich food item with favorable bioactive food compounds including monounsaturated and polyunsaturated healthy fats, soluble fiber, vegetable proteins, phytosterols and polyphenols and there are potential biological mechanisms by which avocados offer cardioprotective benefits, which is through modulating CV risk factors,” Lorena S. Pacheco, PhD, MPH, RDN, postdoctoral research fellow in the nutrition department at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told Healio. “The primary monounsaturated fatty acid present in avocados is oleic acid, and it is suggested that it helps in reducing hypertension, inflammation and insulin sensitivity. Additionally, they contain plant sterols, that could have favorable effects on lipid profiles. Moreover, the soluble fiber intake in avocados can also lead to a better lipid profile.”
The researchers reported that the Hass avocado, the most consumed variety in the U.S., contains approximately 13 g of oleic acid in a medium-sized fruit, which is comparable to the amount of oleic acid in 1.5 oz of almonds or 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Additionally, half of an avocado contains approximately 20% of the daily recommended fiber, 10% of daily recommended potassium, 5% of daily recommended magnesium and 15% of daily recommended folate.
“This study aimed to examine the association between avocado consumption with CVD, which includes CHD and stroke, in two large U.S. prospective cohort studies,” Pacheco told Healio. “We also wanted to estimate the risk of CVD, CHD and stroke when we substitute different fat-containing food sources with the same amount of avocado.”
CV effects of weekly avocado intake
Researchers included 68,786 women from NHS and 41,701 men from HPFS who had no cancer, CHD or stroke at baseline. Avocado intake was evaluated using validated food frequency questionnaires at baseline and then every 4 years. Median follow-up was approximately 13 years for women and 14 years for men.
Overall, participants with higher avocado consumption also had higher total energy intake and diet quality, including greater intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and dairy products compared with those with lower avocado consumption.
For the present analysis, half of an avocado was classified as a single serving.
Researchers reported that individuals who ate at least two servings of avocado per week experienced 16% lower risk for CVD (HR = 0.84; 95% CI, 0.75-0.95; P for trend = .0007) and 21% lower risk for CHD (HR = 0.79; 95% CI, 0.68-0.91; P for trend < .001) compared with those who did not consume avocado. However, they observed no association between avocado intake and risk for stroke (P for trend = .78).
“We defined CVD as the composite of fatal CHD and nonfatal MI and fatal and nonfatal stroke,” Pacheco told Healio. “Thus, we did find an association with CVD but not with stroke, meaning that the risk of CVD is primarily driven by CHD. As my co-authors and I discuss in the paper, our stroke findings could be explained by chance or the lack of statistical power in our models.”
For every half-serving increase in avocado intake per day, researchers observed an approximately 20% lower risk for CVD (HR = 0.8; 95% CI, 0.71-0.91), according to the study.
Moreover, replacing half of one daily serving of margarine, butter, egg, yogurt, cheese or processed meats with a half serving of avocado was associated with a 16% to 22% lower risk for CVD, according to the study.
“We know avocados impart heart-healthy benefits. Yet, avocados are also calorie-rich, so pairing them with chips or the like compromises those benefits since we need to consider your portion of avocado and your portion of chips,” Pacheco told Healio. “In most cases, when you have guacamole or similar spreads, it is easy to overconsume them, increasing your overall calories. Besides this, most of us do not pay attention to the serving size on the bag of chips and keep ‘munching away’, making this a troublesome combination.”
Benefits of a routine healthy diet
“We desperately need strategies to improve intake of AHA-recommended healthy diets — such as the Mediterranean diet — that are rich in vegetables and fruits,” Cheryl Anderson, PhD, MPH, FAHA, professor and dean of the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at University of California, San Diego, and chair of the AHA Council on Epidemiology and Prevention, said in the release. “Although no one food is the solution to routinely eating a healthy diet, this study is evidence that avocados have possible health benefits. This is promising because it is a food item that is popular, accessible, desirable and easy to include in meals eaten by many Americans at home and in restaurants.”
Reference:
- Eating two servings of avocados a week linked to lower risk of cardiovascular disease. newsroom.heart.org/news/eating-two-servings-of-avocados-a-week-linked-to-lower-risk-of-cardiovascular-disease. Published March 30, 2022. Accessed March 30, 2022.
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