2024-05-06 15:48:55
True, experts advise not to pay too much attention only to certain foods – the most important thing is a balanced and varied diet. However, adding avocados to your diet can be a healthy choice.
Diabetes is an insidious disease. Often it has no symptoms, and the patient already feels the complications of diabetes – symptoms of damage to nerve endings, myocardial infarction or stroke caused by large blood vessels.
Made in Mexico study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dieteticsshowed a possible link between avocado consumption and a lower risk of diabetes.
Diabetes is the second leading cause of death in Mexico, where about 15.2 percent of the population has the disease. adults (12.8 million people).
To investigate the link between avocado consumption and diabetes risk, researchers examined questionnaires filled out by a portion of the Mexican population in which they provided information about their eating habits and diabetes diagnosis. Most of the survey participants fell into the overweight or obese groups.
The results revealed that women who eat avocados are less likely to develop diabetes. True, such a connection was not observed in men’s answers.
How did the investigation go?
In order to determine people’s avocado consumption habits, survey participants had to complete a seven-day dietary questionnaire. The participants were strictly divided into two groups: avocado consumers (eating any amount of avocados) and non-consumers.
Information about the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus was provided by the people themselves. It is true that only a part of the respondents shared the blood sugar measurements confirming the diagnosis.
Participants also self-reported their demographic and cardiometabolic risk factors, such as age, gender, socioeconomic status, education, body mass index (BMI), obesity, Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2015) score, caloric intake, lifestyle habits and other diagnosed diseases.
The height, weight and waist circumference of the respondents were measured by specially trained personnel.
After collecting the survey data, the researchers analyzed it using descriptive statistics and logistic regression models to examine the association between avocado consumption and diabetes risk.
Benefits of avocados for women
About 45 percent participants reported consuming avocados. Their average daily dose was 34.7 g for men and 29.8 g for women.
Respondents who ate avocados were generally more educated and belonged to a higher socioeconomic class than those who did not consume avocados.
Additionally, more than three-quarters of avocado lovers lived in cities.
Avocado eaters of both sexes also had slightly higher Healthy Eating Index scores, indicating a slightly more nutritious diet overall.
Women who ate avocados had a 22 percent lower risk, even after adjusting for other factors. lower risk of developing diabetes. The same effect was not observed in men.
Avocados and Diabetes – What’s the Connection?
“There are several explanations for why eating avocados may reduce the risk of diabetes in women. One is antioxidants, which reduce inflammation and cell damage, factors that increase the risk of diseases such as diabetes. Rich in fat and fiber, avocados also have a low glycemic index, so they don’t cause the spikes in glucose and insulin levels that disrupt metabolism,” said Dr. Avantika Waring, specialist in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism.
However, the doctor stressed that these are only hypotheses. Avocados’ high fiber and healthy fats, which promote satiety and lead people to eat less of less nutritious foods, could have this effect, she speculated.
Doctor-scientist dr. Thomas M. Holland of the RUSH Institute for Healthy Aging, which was not involved in the study, also cited the insulin-sensitizing nutrients in avocados that may stabilize the diabetes disease process.
“Now we need to determine exactly why this effect was observed only in women but not in men,” said the expert.
In his opinion, this could be due to a number of factors. Men and women suffer from diabetes differently. This is due to hormonal changes that occur during the course of life, genetic and environmental factors and psychosocial stressors, which increase the risk of diabetes only in women.
Dr. A. Waring did not object to this, emphasizing the significant hormonal changes that women experience during the main stages of life: “During pregnancy, women become more insulin resistant, and during menopause, when the level of estrogen in the blood drops, the composition of women’s body fat changes, which can increase the risk of diabetes.”
Ultimately, it remains unclear what accounts for the differences in the association between avocados and diabetes between men and women. This highlights the need for further research on gender-specific dietary patterns.
There is no data on how much to eat
Dr. who did not participate in the study Eliza Whitaker, a dietitian and nutrition consultant at Dietitian Insights, pointed out a major flaw in the study: the groups into which respondents were divided were too broad, which does not allow us to determine what amount of avocados is the healthiest.
She added that combining occasional and frequent avocado eaters into one group does not allow us to understand the exact effect of this fruit on diabetes risk.
Speaking about what science has already confirmed, the specialist assured: “Avocados may be associated with a lower risk of diabetes, but avocados alone do not protect against diabetes.” To reduce the risk of diabetes as much as possible, we should look at nutrition as a whole.”
Dr. has a similar opinion. Waring, who emphasized that the study encourages eating more unprocessed, heart-healthy foods, including vegetables and fruits, because it improves metabolism. However, the study does not provide specific recommendations for the consumption of avocados.
“A healthy lifestyle, one of the components of which is nutrition, increases a person’s ability to control the course of their disease,” added Dr. TMHolland.
Although such a study is not sufficient to draw strong conclusions about the consumption of avocados and the risk of diabetes, Dr. TMHolland believes that the connection discovered by the Mexican researchers is still significant.
When asked if people should be eating more avocados to reduce their risk of diabetes, the expert said: “Given the abundance and variety of nutrients in avocados, there is compelling evidence that they should be included in healthier diets – such as the DASH diet, the Mediterranean diet or the MIND diet.”
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2024-05-06 15:48:55