According to a new study by the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and collaborators, daily avocados may help redistribute a woman’s abdominal fat into a healthier profile.
155 overweight and obese adults participated Randomized controlled trial It provided one meal a day for 12 weeks. Women who took avocado as part of their daily diet had a deeper reduction in visceral abdominal fat.
Led by Naiman Khan, a professor of kinesiology in Illinois Community health, Researchers have conducted their research, funded by the Has Avocado Commission, Journal of Nutrition.
“The goal wasn’t weight loss. I was interested in understanding how eating avocado affects how individuals store body fat. The location of fat in the body is health“Khan said.
“There are two types of fat in the abdomen: subcutaneous fat, which accumulates beneath the skin, and visceral fat, which surrounds the internal organs and accumulates deep inside the abdomen. The deeper the visceral fat, the greater the risk of developing diabetes. I was interested in investigating whether taking avocado changes the ratio of subcutaneous fat to visceral fat, as it tends to be higher. “
Participants were divided into two groups. One group received a diet with fresh avocado, and the other group received a diet with about the same ingredients and similar calories but no avocado.
At the beginning and end of the 12 weeks, researchers measured participants’ abdominal fat and glucose tolerance, metabolic measures, and markers of diabetes.
Female participants who took avocado daily as part of their diet had reduced visceral fat (a difficult-to-target fat associated with high risk) and a reduced proportion of visceral fat. subcutaneous fat, Shows the redistribution of fat away from the organs. However, the fat distribution in men did not change, and neither men nor women showed improvement in glucose tolerance.
“Although the daily consumption of avocado did not change Glucose tolerance. What we have learned is that daily dietary patterns containing avocado influenced how individuals store body fat in a beneficial way for their health, but the benefits were primarily for women. “Khan said. You can adjust the distribution of fat. Knowing that the effect was only apparent in women tells us a little about the potential for sex to play a role in the diet response. “
The researchers said they would like to provide participants with a full daily diet and conduct follow-up studies to look for additional markers of gut health and gut health. Physical health Get a more complete picture of the metabolic effects of avocado intake and determine if there are any differences between men and women.
“Our research does more than shed valuable light on the daily benefits. avocado Consumption of different types of fat distribution across genders, which provides us with the basis for further work to understand the full impact of avocados. Body fat And health. ” Richard McKenzie, a professor of human metabolism at the University of Roehampton in London, who co-authored the study, said.
“By furthering our research, we can better understand which types of people benefit most from incorporating avocado into their diet and provide patients with guidance on how to reduce fat accumulation. Valuable data can be provided to healthcare advisors. Potential risk of diabetes. ”
