Sadly, a quarter of annual deaths is due to heart disease. Many of these cases were and are preventable, too. A new analysis shows that people should eat avocados to decrease your risk of heart disease. Let’s look at some heart health benefits of avocados.
Eat Avocados to Decrease Your Risk of Heart Disease
Heart disease has several risk factors, including high blood pressure and cholesterol. There are two types of cholesterol: LDL (bad cholesterol) and HDL (good cholesterol).
Eating good, healthy cholesterol can actually help decrease your risk of heart disease. Foods like nuts, olive oil, and avocado are packed with good cholesterol.
A recently done review and analysis of existing studies specifically showed that people should eat avocados to decrease your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
The researchers analyzed over 100 studies that looked at the effects of consuming avocado had on people and metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a bundle of diseases and symptoms, such as high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
Heart Health Benefits of Avocados
In the 100 studies, they found that avocado, avocado oil, or the peel had the ability to lower bad cholesterol levels, decrease the risk of obesity, as well as hypertension.
The authors of the study wrote, “The lipid-lowering, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, anti-obesity, antithrombotic, antiatherosclerotic, and cardioprotective effects of avocado have been demonstrated in several studies.”
People who regularly eat avocado also tend to have less belly fat, which is the worst type of fat for your health. Those with excess belly fat tend to be at higher risk for heart attacks, strokes, and heart disease.
However, you do not need to eat an entire avocado each day. They are high in calories and can cause weight gain if consumed too often. Instead, try to eat a quarter of one or half of one each day or every other day.
If you’re at a loss of how to add avocado to your meals, try these recipes. Fortunately, avocado pairs well with sweet and savory foods.
Nutritionist Cynthia Sass states, “If you’ve never tried avocado in these ways, trust me, you’ll love it. Avocado blends well with both sweet and savory ingredients and provides the satisfaction factor that makes dishes decadent. Incorporating more avocado into your diet is like having your cake and eating it too!”
If high cholesterol is a health issue for you, try incorporating more avocado instead of fried foods or other fatty foods.
Other Benefits
Avocados are great for vision due to two phytochemicals called lutein and zeaxanthin. These phytochemicals provide an antioxidant protection that helps minimize damage from UV light.
Furthermore, they are beneficial for osteoporosis prevention due to its high content of vitamin K. By eating a diet with the adequate amount of vitamin K, you can support bone health and increase calcium absorption.
Lastly, avocados can help lower the risk of depression due to its high levels of folate. This is because folate helps prevent homocysteine build-up, which is a substance that can interfere with the chemicals that regulate mood, sleep and appetite.
Resources
http://www.health.com/heart-disease/avocado-metabolic-syndrome-heart-disease-diabetes