The super fruit that could increase your heart health

A new study has revealed the super fruit that could be helping men and women increase their heart health if consumed long-term.

The study, written by Lorena S Pacheco, a postdoctoral research fellow in the department of nutrition at Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, looked at the relationship between avocado intake and long-term cardiovascular disease (CVD) in an effort to fill the knowledge gap on the subject.

The study, Avocado Consumption and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in US Adults, involved 68,786 women from the Nurse’s Health Study (NHS) and 41,701 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2013) who were established to be “free of cancer, coronary heart disease, and stroke at baseline”.

The group of men and women were assessed for their individual diets “using validated food frequency questionnaires”. The assessments were undertaken every four years and over a period spanning 30 years.

The study found that after the relevant considerations were made for lifestyle and dietary factors, those men and women who consumed two or more servings of avocado each week, as opposed to non-consumers, were associated with a 16% lower risk of developing CVD and a 21% lower risk of developing coronary heart disease.

Furthermore, researchers also found that those participants who swapped out half a serving of margarine, butter, egg, yoghurt, cheese or processed meat for half a serve of avocado were also at a 16 to 22 per cent lower risk of developing CVD.

As detailed in the study, previous “clinical trials have studied avocado-induced changes in the cardiovascular risk factors; however, these studies have been limited to intermediate risk factors as end points”.

It’s important to note that coronary heart disease and stroke fall under cardiovascular disease (CVD) and remains the leading cause of death in the United States. To decrease the likelihood of developing CVD, The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fatty acids to 5 to 6 per cent of your diet’s overall calorie intake. Replacements may include mono-saturated fats and polyunsaturated fats to promote healthy heart health.

IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your personal health requirements or existing medical conditions. That means it’s not personalised health advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a health-related decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get professional medical advice.