Does eating avocado make you fat or lose weight? Are there any alternatives?

Avocado, also known as alligator pear, oily pear, and persea gratis, is a wonder in the fruit world. Other fruits are low in fat, but it is indeed a master at storing fat, so it is also known as "forest butter".

Some people say that avocados make people fat and should not be eaten; some people say that eating avocados can help lose weight, and some people say that avocados are very nutritious fruits and must be eaten. It even made the Guinness World Records: the most nutritious fruit.

Are avocados really that good? What if you don’t like them? In this article, we’ll take a look at avocados.

01

What nutrients are worth eating in avocados?

Avocados are native to tropical America and are grown in Hainan, Guangdong, and Yunnan in my country. The flesh is a refreshing green color and smells like butter, so it is also called "forest butter." Because of this characteristic, the fat content of avocados is as high as 15.3 grams per 100 grams, [1] which is much higher than that of ordinary fruits.

Photo courtesy of the author

However, although it has a high fat content, 80% of its fat is unsaturated fatty acids, mainly monounsaturated fatty acids, mainly oleic acid, which is a kind of fat that is beneficial to health and helps reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.

In addition, avocados are rich in the mineral potassium, with a content of up to 599 mg/100 g, which is 2.3 times that of bananas. This ingredient helps control blood pressure.

The carotene and insoluble dietary fiber content of avocados are also quite excellent among fruits, which are 7 times and 1.2 times the content of apples we often eat. Carotene can be converted into vitamin A in the body, which is good for eye health, while dietary fiber can promote gastrointestinal motility, prevent constipation, and is beneficial to intestinal health.

02

Other Health Benefits of Avocados

In addition to the nutritional values ​​mentioned above, avocado has many other benefits to the human body.

① Good for intestinal health: Studies have shown that if avocado is added to the diet, it can reduce serum hepatocyte growth factor, increase the abundance of bacteria involved in plant polysaccharide fermentation, and improve intestinal flora. [2]

② Reduce the risk of heart disease: In 2022, the American Heart Association published a study on the risk of cardiovascular disease and avocado consumption among American adults. The results showed that replacing certain fat-containing foods with avocados may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, such as replacing margarine, butter, processed meat, etc. [3]

③ May lower LDL (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol): LDL is called "bad cholesterol" and will deposit on the blood vessel walls and endanger health, while HDL is called "good cholesterol" and is beneficial to health.

A 2020 study in the American Journal of Nutrition showed that eating one avocado per day reduced circulating oxidized LDL and small, dense LDL in overweight and obese adults. These particles are susceptible to oxidation in the body and are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Other studies have shown that avocados can increase serum HDL (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol). [4, 5]

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④ Antioxidant: Phytosterol is a natural plant active ingredient that has antioxidant and free radical scavenging effects. It can also reduce the incidence of chronic diseases such as coronary artery sclerosis, heart disease, cancer and benign prostatic hypertrophy.

An experiment has been conducted to measure the phytosterols in avocados. The results show that the total phytosterol content in avocado pulp is 107.89 mg/100 g, while the sterol content of general fruits and vegetables is below 50 mg/100 g. For example, the sterol content of apples, strawberries, and kiwis is all below 20 mg/100 g. [6] This shows that among fruits, avocados have a very high phytosterol content.

03

Will eating avocado make you fat or thin?

There has always been controversy about whether eating avocados can help you lose weight or gain weight.

Avocado is very popular in fat-reducing meals. Many light meals are served with avocado, which makes the fat-reducing meals look fresh and appetizing, and gives people the impression that eating avocado can help lose weight.

However, some people have raised objections, arguing that the calorie content of avocado is as high as 171 kcal/100 g (one avocado weighs between 100 and 200 grams), which is higher than that of common fruits and even higher than that of durian. Eating it will not help you lose weight, but will only make you gain weight.

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Yes, judging from the calories in avocado, it is indeed not a good food for weight loss. However, a study on the relationship between eating avocados and abdominal obesity was published in the American Journal of Nutrition in 2021. A total of 105 overweight subjects with a BMI > 25 kg/m2 were included in the study. The experimental group ate one fresh avocado per day, while the control group did not eat avocado. Both groups were fed an equal calorie diet for a total of 12 weeks. [7]

The results showed that the abdominal fat of women in the experimental group was significantly reduced, while there was no significant difference in men before and after.

Therefore, for women, if you can replace part of your diet with an avocado, it may help you lose belly fat, thereby reducing visceral fat. But if you add an avocado every day to the original diet, you will definitely gain weight.

04

Is it necessary to eat avocado?

It seems that avocados have many health benefits, but most people find the greasy taste of avocados unacceptable. Rather than relying on eating avocados to prevent diseases, a balanced diet is more important. For those who don't like avocados, if you want to supplement the corresponding nutrients, you can eat more of the following foods:

Unsaturated fatty acids: Most of the fat in avocados is monounsaturated fatty acids. Nuts rich in this fatty acid include peanuts, pecans, cashews, and hazelnuts; optional cooking oils: rapeseed oil, olive oil, camellia seed oil, and peanut oil.

Dietary fiber: Fruits rich in dietary fiber include kiwi, Korla pear, guava, mulberry, and banana. It is also recommended to combine coarse and fine staple foods. Replacing 1/3 to 1/2 of refined white rice with whole grains and beans can also increase the intake of dietary fiber.

Potassium: If you want to supplement potassium, you can choose mushroom foods, such as bamboo fungus, yellow mushroom, hazel mushroom, Coprinus comatus, and Oyster mushroom. 20 grams of dry products provide more potassium than 100 grams of avocado.

Carotene: Clementine, mango, cantaloupe, apricot, and tangerine. The carotene content of Clementine is 6.7 times that of avocado, while the calories are only 24% of that of avocado.

05

How about avocado oil?

Not only avocados have attracted much attention, but avocado oil has also been favored by many people. Avocado oil is a niche cooking oil with a unique flavor.

Most cooking oils are extracted from seeds, but avocado oil is different. It is extracted from the pulp of avocado. Because avocado seeds only contain 2% oil, most of the oil is in the pulp.

Avocado with the pit removed | Photo provided by the author

Because of this, avocado oil is also rich in oleic acid, which is not easy to oxidize and become rancid. It also contains squalene, phytosterols and vitamin E, which can prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The squalene content of virgin and cold-pressed avocado oil is second only to olive oil and higher than other common cooking oils. This ingredient can inhibit intestinal cholesterol absorption, protect cells from free radical damage, and enhance the body's immunity. [8, 9]

Avocado oil has a low smoke point of 160°C on average, and it is easy to produce smoke during high-temperature cooking, so it is more suitable for cold dishes and steaming.

Summarize:

Putting aside the calories, avocado is indeed a relatively healthy fruit and is rich in nutrients, but if you really don't like its taste, don't force it.

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In addition, there are many foods that are often hyped as "Internet celebrity foods" or "super foods", but in fact, they have no irreplaceable nutrients and are not necessary to eat. No food can contain all the nutrients needed by the human body. If you want to be healthy, you can't do without a balanced diet.

Author | Xue Qingxin, member of Chinese Nutrition Society, registered dietitian, health manager, public nutritionist

Review | Song Shuang, Associate Researcher, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Editor | Ding Zong

References:

[1] Yang Yuexin. Chinese Food Composition Table 6th Edition Volume 1[M]. Peking University Medical Press, 2018

[2]Henning SM, Yang J, Woo SL, Lee RP, Huang J, Rasmusen A, Carpenter CL, Thames G, Gilbuena I, Tseng CH, Heber D, Li Z. Hass Avocado Inclusion in a Weight-Loss Diet Supported Weight Loss and Altered Gut Microbiota: A 12-Week Randomized, Parallel-Controlled Trial. Curr Dev Nutr. 2019 Jun 12;3(8):nzz068. doi: 10.1093/cdn/nzz068. PMID: 31367691; PMCID: PMC6658913.

[3] Pacheco LS, Li Y, Rimm EB, Manson JE, Sun Q, Rexrode K, Hu FB, Guasch-Ferré M. Avocado Consumption and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in US Adults. J Am Heart Assoc. 2022 Apr 5;11(7):e024014. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.121.024014. Epub 2022 Mar 30. PMID: 35352568; PMCID: PMC9075418.

[4]Wang L, Tao L, Hao L, Stanley TH, Huang KH, Lambert JD, Kris-Etherton PM. A Moderate-Fat Diet with One Avocado per Day Increases Plasma Antioxidants and Decreases the Oxidation of Small, Dense LDL in Adults with Overweight and Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Nutr. 2020 Feb 1;150(2):276-284. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxz231. PMID: 31616932; PMCID: PMC7373821.

[5]Mahmassani HA, Avendano EE, Raman G, Johnson EJ. Avocado consumption and risk factors for heart disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr. 2018 Apr 1;107(4):523-536. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqx078. PMID: 29635493.

[6] Tian Dandan, Li Yan, Mei Xiaohong. Identification and antioxidant and antibacterial activities of phytosterols in avocado[J]. Food Science, 2019, 40(03): 30-35.

[7] Khan NA, Edwards CG, Thompson SV, Hannon BA, Burke SK, Walk ADM, Mackenzie RWA, Reeser GE, Fiese BH, Burd NA, Holscher HD. Avocado Consumption, Abdominal Adiposity, and Oral Glucose Tolerance Among Persons with Overweight and Obesity. J Nutr. 2021 Sep 4;151(9):2513-2521. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxab187. PMID: 34191028; PMCID: PMC8417923.

[8] Chen Hongzhu, Deng Xinyu, Huang Darong, Liu Xiaozhen, Li Pan, Du Bing. Research progress on nutritional components and efficacy of avocado oil [J/OL]. China Oils and Fats: 1-25 [2022-06-01]. DOI: 10.19902/j.cnki.zgyz.1003-7969.210354.

[9] Shang Jiayi, Chu Baijun, Zhao Wenjun, Zhai Mengting, Wang Xiangyu, Ma Yuming, Sun Qing, Meng Xiangyong, Chen Jijiang, Zhang Yu. Study on the quality of commercial avocado oil and grape seed oil products [J/OL]. China Oils and Fats: 1-19 [2022-06-01]. http://kns.cnki.net.http.gzlib.proxy.chaoxing.com/kcms/detail/61.1099.TS.20220518.1458.004.html