For the first time ever, the Hass avocado industry in the US has come together to unveil a major nutrition research programme, which will focus on heart health, weight management, diabetes, and healthy living.
The comprehensive nutritional initiative will be one of the Hass Avocado Board’s (HAB) key strategic priorities moving forward.
The overall goal is expected to confirm that avocados are a super food and will ultimately help to drive increased consumption of Hass avocados in the US.
The multi-year effort will build a strong case for touting the nutritional benefits of the fruit, using the science to provide a solid foundation for health and nutrition marketing communication programmes, according to HAB.
As part of the initiative, a new health study into avocados has been published, which HAB claims is the “most comprehensive” avocado research literature review to date.
“The release of the Hass Avocado Composition and Potential Health Effects study is just the beginning in terms of our long-term nutrition research plan for avocados,” said Emiliano Escobedo, HAB’s executive director.
“We needed to see what existed so we could determine what direction we wanted to take. From this, we have developed three pillars of our avocado research – heart health, weight management and diabetes, and healthy living.
“This research will help confirm what many people have known all along – that avocados are a super food,” Escobedo explained.
The findings in the report, published by Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, are based on a review of more than 124 scientific references (published between 1960 and 2011), including more than 60 studies.
Key findings include:
• Preliminary studies suggest diets that include avocados may have a positive effect on cholesterol levels, compared to low fat, high carbohydrate diets or typical American diets that do not include avocados.
• Avocados may be included in a weight loss regimen.
• Avocados can fit into a full range of healthy eating plans.
• Avocados are the richest known fruit source of phytosterols, with about 26 mg per serving (30 g).
• A serving of avocado (30 g) contains less than 1 g of total sugar. In addition, avocados contain a unique type of sugar called D-mannoheptulose, which nutritionally acts more like a unique phytonutrient, not like conventional sugar.
“This paper suggests that there are promising research areas to explore with avocados and heart health, weight management and type 2 diabetes,” added Dr Mark Dreher, Nutrition Scientist, Avocado Nutrition Center.
“Additionally, based on their nutrition and phytochemical components, avocados may play a positive role in many emerging areas including skin, eye, joint and cellular health.”
