Avocados gaining new respect as a protector against heart disease
Could eating out at your favorite Mexican restaurant be good for your heart?
It could if you order the guacamole!
A new study found that the trendy green fruit used to make that popular Mexican dish just might help prevent heart disease.
Researchers compared a moderate-fat diet featuring an avocado a day to two others that had none. They found the avocado diet significantly reduced a risk factor in heart disease called low-density lipoprotein particles. The people in the study were overweight, but otherwise healthy.
“Research is beginning to show that small, dense LDL particles, in particular, may be more likely to be oxidized and form plaques in the arteries compared to large, buoyant LDL particles,” said the lead investigator. And avocado consumption, they found, helped to get rid of those small, more damaging particles.
Avocados have also been used as traditional folk remedies for things like gout. And they contain 60 percent more potassium than bananas.
So maybe this fruit will replace another fruit in that old rhyme. How about ‘an avocado a day keeps the doctor away’ — especially the cardiologist!
Sources:
“New research explores potential effects of Hass avocado consumption on emerging cardiovascular disease risk factors” May 2, 2014, NewsMedical, news-medical.net
