Eating (healthy) fats, believe it or not, burns belly fat.
If you're trying to shed weight around your middle, the avocado could be your new best friend.
Professors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recruited 105 persons who were overweight or obese. In this 12-week randomized controlled study, individuals were split into two groups: One group had a daily meal that included avocado. At the same time, the other received an everyday meal that did not contain an avocado but did contain a dish with similar contents and caloric value.
At the start and end of the trial, the researchers examined the volunteers' belly fat and their glucose tolerance (a test that analyzes the body's response to sugar, which is a marker of diabetes).
According to their findings published in the Journal of Nutrition, women who ate an avocado every day had less visceral abdominal fat—the hard-to-lose, dangerous fat that stores within the abdominal cavity and surrounds the organs—as well as a lower visceral fat to subcutaneous fat ratio (the type of fat that you can pinch since it lays directly beneath the skin). This shift shows that belly fat was redistributed healthily.
The male volunteers, on the other hand, did not have the same luck. According to the authors, no changes in abdominal fat occurred, and neither male nor female volunteers improved their glucose tolerance. As a result, the researchers hope to research the relationship between avocado consumption and metabolic health. It's also worth noting that the Hass Avocado Board financed this research.
"It's no surprise that avocados are linked to a lower incidence of visceral fat storage," says Jessica Marcus, MS, RD, Parsley Health's health coach. She notes that, despite their high-fat content, avocados are low in carbohydrates and high in fiber.
"Fiber has been linked to weight loss, and blood sugar rises," she says. "Plus, we know from ketogenic diet research that this combination of high-fat and high-fiber is incredibly satiating, which not only reduces your chances of overeating later in the day but also activates your body's ability to burn its fat. For fuel."
Other nutritional benefits of this centuries-old brilliant green fruit, according to Marcus, include its status as a nutrient-dense complete superfood rich in antioxidants and phytochemicals. "We're barely scratching the surface of how these plant compounds affect human DNA expression," she says.
Make homemade guacamole, or try making avocado toast if you want to incorporate this versatile, buttery-tasting food into your regular diet. "A quarter or half of an avocado sliced into a salad, blended into a smoothie, or crushed with a can of wild salmon and spice for a quick lunch are a few of my favorite ways to integrate avocados," Marcus suggests.