Mention avocados and most people will tell you that these nutritious fruits are laden with fat and should be assiduously avoided by anyone trying to lose weight and/or with raised blood fat levels.

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Research conducted at the Potchefstroom Institute of Nutrition at Potchefstroom University has found the opposite, namely that avocados can be used successfully in Slimming Diets. Furthermore, South African avocados proudly bear the “Heart Mark” bestowed by the SA Heart Foundation, which is not what one would except for a supposedly high-fat food.

Interesting research
In the Potchefstroom study, 55 overweight male and female volunteers were randomly assigned to receive either 200 g (1 avocado) a day in the place of 30g of other dietary fat, or no avocado (control group) as part of an energy-reduced diet. The Body Mass Index or BMI-values of the11 men and 44 women, who participated in the study, varied from 27 to 44 kg/m2 (all the subjects were either overweight or obese). The subjects ate the experimental diets for six weeks.

Results
Both groups lost significant amounts of weight during the study, improved their BMIs and reduced their percentage of body fat.

What is of great interest, is that the weight loss in the group eating an avocado a day was similar to the weight loss in the group eating 30g of other fats instead of the avocado.

This shows that eating up to 200 g of avocado a day in the place of other fats does not hamper weight loss when individuals are on a slimming diet.

Do keep in mind that the experimental subjects substituted the 200g of avocado (which contains between 17 and 24 g of fat per 100g), for 30 g of other fats in their slimming diets. They did not add the 200g of avocado to the 30g of fat allowed in the slimming diet used in this study.

Conclusions
The Potchefstroom study shows that avocado, despite its high fat content of 17 to 24g per 100g can be used successfully as a substitute for other dietary fats in energy-reduced diets intended to achieve weight loss.

Avocado is a highly palatable food with a pleasant creamy taste which can be used in slimming diets as a substitute for margarine or butter on wholewheat bread, for mayonnaise in salads, and for sour cream on baked potatoes. This will provide variety to weight reduction diets and help dieters to stave off boredom which can lead to cheating and failure to stick to the slimming diet.

Avocados and the human heart
Why would the SA Heart Foundation grant the ‘Heart Mark’ to avocados and why would the American Dietetic Association (ADA) classify avocados as a ‘functional food’ which is rich in health benefits? The answers lie in the following nutritional properties of avocados:

• Contrary to popular belief, avocados are cholesterol-free
• Despite their high fat content, the fat in avocados is mainly monounsaturated fat which is beneficial to heart health - monounsaturated fats lower ‘bad’ LDL-cholesterol and increase ‘good’ HDL-cholesterol - a win-win situation
• There is also some evidence that monounsaturated fats in foods such as avocado can lower raised triglyceride levels
• Avocados are rich in protective nutrients such as vit E (a powerful antioxidant) and lutein (a compound belonging to the carotenoid family which improves vision)
• Avocados contain a compound called beta-sitosterol, which functions as an anticholesterol agent thus protecting our bodies against excess cholesterol
• Avocados are rich in phytosterols which compete with dietary cholesterol for uptake by the human body, thus lowering blood cholesterol levels

When all these positive effects and the high nutrient content of avocados are taken into account, it is understandable that both the SA Heart Foundation and the ADA view avocados in such a positive light.

Heart sense
If you suffer from raised blood cholesterol or triglyceride levels, then eating avocado regularly together with other fruits and vegetables makes good heart sense.

Winter in South Africa is the season when avocados are plentifully available and you can already buy these healthy, dark green fruit at most supermarkets. So do yourself and your family a favour and stock up with avocados this winter for happy hearts and to make your slimming diet more palatable and fun.

If you have any diet queries, post a question or message on The Message Board. I am here to assist you with your Diet and Food Choices, so let’s interact. –(Dr I.V. van Heerden, registered dietician)

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