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HowToPreventHeartDisease.com |
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How Can Avocado Help Prevent Heart Disease? Avocados are the fruits from Persea Americana, a tree native to Mexico and Central America. Though avocado tastes like a vegetable, it is actually a fruit. Because of its shape and the leather-like appearance of its skin, avocado is sometimes known as the Alligator Pear. In some Asian countries, it is also known as butter fruit. Being rich in nearly 20 vitamins and minerals, avocado contains potassium, lutein and folic acid. It not only is a good source of B vitamins but also has vitamins C and E, and natural plant chemicals. In a recent paper published January 7, 2015 in the ‘Journal of the American Heart Association’, researchers from Pennsylvania State University and University of South Australia reported that avocado could lower cholesterol and hence reduce the risk of heart disease within weeks. While health experts are persuading people to adopt low-fat diets by substituting carbohydrate for saturated fat, it seems that it is better for people to replace saturated fats with good (unsaturated) fats in their diet. Saturated fat that is found in meat and butter could raise the risk of heart disease, as shown by repeated studies. The researchers carried out an intensive study on 45 typical Americans, who were overweight or obese, but with healthy cholesterol and blood pressure levels. The participants were fed with 3 carefully calibrated diets: lower-fat diet without avocado, moderate-fat diet without avocado, and moderate-fat diet with an avocado a day. The moderate-fat diets were similar to the average American diet with about a third of the calories coming from fat. The lower-fat diet provided 24 percent of calories from fat.
Every participant was asked to spend 5 weeks on each of the 3 diets. Although no one lost weight, there was a change in the low-density lipoprotein (LDL or bad) cholesterol levels. All diets reduced the LDL cholesterol level, but the diet with avocado did cut the LDL cholesterol level the most. LDL cholesterol is the main lipid risk factor for heart disease and stroke. When the participants were eating the avocado-a-day diet, their LDL cholesterol levels were reduced by more than 13 points compared to their usual levels. When they were on the moderate-fat diet without the avocado and the low-fat diet, their LDL cholesterol levels were found to be lower by 8.3 points and 7.4 points respectively. Americans are advised to keep total cholesterol below 200, preferably below 180, and LDL below 100. Like olive oil and nuts, avocados contain plaque-busting monounsaturated fatty acids, and the effects appear to be similar to all the benefits from a Mediterranean diet. Previous studies have shown that people who added olive oil and nuts to their diets ended up healthier. They were less likely to have strokes or heart attacks, and they were less likely to die earlier than those who did not consume the same. Besides monounsaturated fats, avocados also have fiber, phytosterols and polyphenols, all of which could actually help lower cholesterol. The natural sugars in avocado might help regulate blood sugar, too. Unfortunately, not too many people are aware of the benefits of avocado and most people might not be used to eating it. In fact, it is easy to add. Consumers can include avocados in their diet in salads, on top of a sandwich, or in a sandwich. It is possible that there might be plenty of other fruits and vegetables that could lower cholesterol. That is why health experts should focus on getting people to eat a heart-healthy diet that includes avocados and other nutrient-rich food sources of better fats. Nevertheless, one should note that avocado is certainly not a low-calorie food. Each avocado has between 200 and 250 calories. It is suggested that people should not simply add avocado a day to their diet. Instead, avocado should replace those nutrient-poor calories in existing their diet.
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