Study: If you want a healthy gut then eat some avocados every day

As time goes on, we learn more and more about the factors that affect our health, and we're already very clear that what's going on in our gut is very important. The collection of microbes that inhabit the human digestive system is collectively referred to as the gut microbiome, and there is growing evidence that the diversity of microbes in our bodies affects our health in a huge way, both positive and negative.

Now, research on a popular "superfood" suggests that adding it to your daily diet can promote gut health and keep gut microbes happy.

Over the past dozen years, avocados have quickly become a popular health food. Although we may have known that avocado is beneficial to the human body, it was only recently that we did not know how many benefits this fruit hides. It's rich in healthy fats and nutrients that can help keep the body healthy, and a recent study published in the Journal of Nutrition showed that good gut microbes also like to eat it.

Having known that gut microbes are essential to human health, and knowing that avocados are rich in good things, the researchers wanted to see if the fruit really had any measurable effect on microbes — both in number and in species — so they did a simple experiment. They recruited more than 160 adults for the study and asked them to make some changes to their diets. They were divided into two groups, one group ate a special meal containing avocados a day, and the other group ate a similar meal, but did not contain avocados.

Participants were provided with blood, urine, and stool samples before, during, and after the experiment, and were told to eat whatever they normally ate each day, in addition to eating a special meal prepared by the researchers each day. After 12 weeks, the trial ended and the researchers analyzed the data and came to some very interesting conclusions.

First, compared to people who don't eat avocados, people who eat avocados have gut microbes that break down fiber more. These microbes are beneficial in many ways, including the compounds they produce that are good for our digestive system. Most importantly, people who eat avocados have more microbes in their bodies, and the diversity of the gut microbiome is related to overall health.

The researchers concluded that eating avocados every day affects digestive physiology, the composition of gut microbes, and metabolic function in a positive way. So, if you want a quick, easy, and delicious way to make your bacteria happy, then put on avocado and enjoy.