Avocados are beneficial for women to lose fat

A new study by American researchers and their collaborators published in Nutrition shows that consuming one avocado a day can help women redistribute belly fat and make it healthier.

105 overweight and obese adults participated in a randomized controlled trial that provided them with one meal per day for 12 consecutive weeks. The results showed that women who used avocados as part of their daily diet had less deep visceral fat in their abdomen. The study was led by Naiman Khan, professor of kinematics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with research funding from the Haas Avocado Committee.

"We were interested in what effect eating avocados had on the way individuals stored body fat. The position of fat in the body plays an important role in health. "There are two types of fat in the abdomen, one that accumulates under the skin, called subcutaneous fat; the other that accumulates deep in the abdomen, around the internal organs, called visceral fat." The higher the proportion of visceral fat, the greater the risk of diabetes. So we'd love to know if the ratio of subcutaneous fat to visceral fat changes with avocado intake. ”

Participants were divided into two groups, one group ingesting foods containing fresh avocados, while the other group ingesting foods that contained nearly the same ingredients and similar calories but did not contain avocados. At the beginning and end of the 12-week trial, the researchers measured participants' abdominal fat and glucose tolerance, a metabolic marker and marker of diabetes.

The results showed that female participants who consumed avocados on a daily basis had less visceral fat in their abdomen — a type of fat that is difficult to identify associated with high risk — and a reduced ratio of visceral fat to subcutaneous fat, suggesting that fat was redistributed. However, there was no change in fat distribution in men and no improvement in glucose tolerance in both men and women.

"While eating avocados every day doesn't change glucose tolerance, we learned that eating avocados every day can affect individuals storing fat in a wholesome way, which is good for women." Khan said, "Importantly, this proves that dietary interventions can regulate fat distribution." This benefit is evident only in women, which tells us the possibility that gender may play a role in dietary interventions. ”

The researchers said they hope to conduct a follow-up study that provides participants with all their daily diets and looks at other markers of gut health and good health to get a more complete picture of the metabolic effects of avocados and determine whether differences still exist between men and women.

"Our study not only sheds light on the benefits of daily avocado intake for fat distribution in individuals of different sexes, but also lays the groundwork for further understanding of the overall impact of avocados on body fat and health." Study collaborator Richard Mackenzie, a professor at the University of Roehampton in the United Kingdom, said.

"With further research, we are able to get a clearer picture of which types of people benefit the most and provide valuable data for medical consultants to provide patients with guidance on how to reduce fat storage and the potential dangers of diabetes." Mackenzie said. (Bunraku)

Source: China Science Daily