Eating one food a week could slash your risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a new study.
Cardiovascular disease is a term for conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels, including strokes and coronary heart disease. It is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the UK, according to the NHS, which said "it can often largely be prevented by leading a healthy lifestyle".
Just two or more servings of avocado every week could drastically reduces the chances of developing such conditions, the research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found. Dietary fiber and unsaturated fats in avocados help improve the health of hearts and blood vessels, including through the reduction of cholesterol levels.
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The 30-year study included 110,000 health professionals who were "free of cancer, coronary heart disease and stroke at the start of the study". Researchers used food frequency questionnaires to assess the diets of 68,780 women aged 30 to 55, and 41,700 men aged 40 to 75.
Participants who ate at least a whole avocado, or a cup of avocado, each week had a 21% lower risk of coronary heart disease, and a 16% lower risk of cardiovascular disease, than participants who never or rarely ate avocados. Substituting half a serving of butter, cheese or bacon with the same amount of avocado was linked with a similarly lower risk of cardiovascular disease events.
Researchers found no significant impact on the risk of strokes, of which there were 5,290 documented during the 30 years of follow-up with participants.
The study's lead author, Lorena S. Pacheco, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, said: "Our study provides further evidence that the intake of plant-sourced unsaturated fats can improve diet quality and is an important component in cardiovascular disease prevention. These are particularly notable findings since the consumption of avocados has risen steeply in the U.S. in the last 20 years, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture."
Cheryl Anderson, chair of the American Heart Association’s Council on Epidemiology and Prevention, said: "We desperately need strategies to improve intake of AHA-recommended healthy diets — such as the Mediterranean diet — that are rich in vegetables and fruit. Although no one food is the solution to routinely eating a healthy diet, this study is evidence that avocados have possible health benefits."
