What is small and green and may be the key to reducing the consumption of dairy products, meat and refined grains and their related negative nutrients (such as saturated fat and sodium)? This is an avocado.

Researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science conducted a randomized controlled trial comparing households that eat a small amount of avocados (3 per week) with those that eat avocados. Potential health effects. A large number of allocations were consumed in six months (14 times a week). All families are of Mexican descent.

Families who eat more avocados report consuming fewer calories, saturated fat and sodium.

The research was partly funded by the Hass Avocado Committee. The researchers stated that the committee had no role in research design, data collection, data analysis and interpretation, and the writing or publication of research results. The committee did provide the avocados used in the experiment free of charge.

"Data on the impact of avocado intake on the nutritional status of the family has not existed," said senior author Matthew Allison, MD, professor and director of the Department of Preventive Medicine in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine.

"Recent trials focused on individuals, mainly adults, and limited to changes in blood markers of cardiometabolic diseases. Our test results prove that nutritional education and large avocado distribution can reduce the total calories in traditional Mexican households."

Avocados are rich in vitamins C, E, K and B6, as well as riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, pantothenic acid, magnesium, potassium, lutein, β-carotene and omaga-3 fatty acids.

Half a medium-sized fruit provides up to 20% of the recommended daily fiber, 10% potassium, 5% magnesium, 15% folic acid and 7.5 grams of monounsaturated fatty acids.

In this study, the researchers recruited 72 families (231 people), each with at least 3 members over 5 years old, who live in the same house, have no serious chronic diseases, and have no specific diet.​​ Habits, and self-identify as a Mexican tradition. These families were randomly divided into two distribution groups for a period of six months, during which the two groups also received biweekly nutrition education courses.

The researchers said that they are concerned about families of Mexican descent for two reasons: First, compared with other population groups in the country, Hispanics/Latinos in the United States have higher rates of obesity and lower intake of key nutrients. Secondly, for Hispanic/Latino immigrants, with their cultural adaptation, the quality of their diet will become worse. They adopt a Western diet, that is, higher levels of refined carbohydrates and animal fats.

Families that eat more avocados have reduced their consumption of animal protein, especially chicken, eggs, and processed meats, which are usually higher in fat and sodium. Researchers were surprised to find that people who ate a lot of avocados also had lower intakes of calcium, iron, sodium, vitamin D, potassium, and magnesium. Researchers said this may be related to eating less.

"Our results show that the nutritional education and high avocado intake intervention group significantly reduced their total family energy intake, as well as carbohydrates, protein, fat (including saturated), calcium, magnesium, sodium, iron, and potassium. And vitamin D," said lead author Lorena Pacheco, a postdoctoral researcher at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, and a joint researcher at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health at the University of California, San Diego.

"In the secondary energy adjustment analysis, the nutritional education and high avocado allocation group significantly increased the intake of dietary fiber, monounsaturated fatty acids, potassium, vitamin E and folic acid."

The research was published in the Nutrients online journal on November 11.

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Nancy Clanton writes and edits local stories about health, travel, activities and entertainment. She is also responsible for coordinating the coverage and promotion of Pulse, a digital magazine for Southeastern nurses provided by Atlanta Constitution Magazine. She is a native of Knoxville, graduated from the University of Tennessee, and worked at AJC for 20 years.