One of the trendy and most popular food items is avocados. Avocados are used in many different dishes, such as guacamole and toast. Researchers from Penn State’s Department of Nutritional Sciences lead a team that found that including avocado in your daily diet may enhance the quality of your diet overall. The influence of consuming one avocado daily on the quality of one’s diet was examined by the researchers. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, diet quality is defined as a diverse, balanced and nutritious diet that supplies energy and all needed nutrients for development and a healthy, active life. A wide range of foods is required to meet a person’s nutritional requirements.
Kristina Petersen, an associate professor of nutritional sciences, and Penny Kris-Etherton, the retired Evan Pugh University Professor of Nutritional Sciences, conducted the study.
“Avocados are a nutrient-dense food, containing a lot of fibre and other important nutrients. We wanted to see if regular intake of this food would lead to an increase in diet quality,” Petersen stated.
For good health, it’s critical to monitor and improve the quality of your food. Poor nutrition quality, in Petersen’s opinion, may raise the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, kidney failure and several other preventable diseases. “By improving people’s adherence to dietary guidelines, we can help to reduce their risk of developing these chronic conditions and prolong healthy life expectancy,” Petersen said.
The 26-week research included 1,008 volunteers who were divided into two groups. One group stuck to their regular diet while consuming less avocados. One avocado was consumed daily by the other group.
“We found that participants who had an avocado per day significantly increased their adherence to dietary guidelines,” Petersen added, referring to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Petersen stated, “We found that the participants who had an avocado per day significantly increased their adherence to dietary guidelines,” citing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. “This suggests that strategies, like eating one avocado per day, can help people follow dietary guidelines and improve the quality of their diets.”