Avocados - a healthy heart fruit

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) refers to all the diseases of the heart and circulation, including coronary heart disease, atrial fibrillation, heart attack, congenital heart disease, heart failure and stroke.

CVD is New Zealand’s and the world’s number one killer. Every 90 minutes, one New Zealander dies from CVD. That’s 16 deaths every day.

The numbers are unfortunately not going down, with the prevalence of ‘lifestyle diseases’ such as obesity and diabetes, these are the major risk factors for CVD.

• High blood pressure: High blood pressure can overload the heart and arteries and speed up atherosclerosis. High blood pressure can be managed through dietary changes such as lowering salt intake. Medications are also available.

• High cholesterol: High levels of the “bad” cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) can add to the build-up of plaque in the arteries. High cholesterol can be managed through medication and dietary changes.*

Diet is the major change, in addition to exercise and stress.

As ironic as it may seem, research has shown that avocado’s have the good fat.  In fact, eating an avocado a day, rich in fibre and unsaturated fats has been shown to reduce CDV and cholesterol.

This study found eating fresh avocados in place of other types of healthy fats reduced bad LDL-cholesterol levels. This led to a second research analysis in 2019, “The Effect of a Moderate Fat Diet with One Avocado per Day on Plasma Antioxidants and the Oxidation of Small Dense LDL in Overweight and Obese Adults – A Randomized, Controlled Trial”, which evaluated whether a healthy diet with 1 avocado daily decreased the circulating oxidized LDL (oxLDL) and related oxidative stress markers.

In this clinical study of 45 overweight-obese adults, a moderate-fat diet with one avocado per day increased blood antioxidant levels and decreased the oxidation of small, dense LDL-cholesterol compared to a low-fat diet or a moderate-fat oil diet. While the conclusions from a single study cannot be generalized to larger, more diverse populations, the study supports the growing body of evidence demonstrating avocados as a heart-healthy fruit.

*Paraphrased from Heart Research Institute NZ and Hass Avocado Board US