3. Eating avocado every day can help improve health of the gut microbiome
A study has shown that including avocado in our daily diet can help improve the health of the gut. The study determined that individuals consuming avocado included in daily meals had a significantly greater abundance of gut microbes that help in breaking down fiber and producing gut health-supporting metabolites.1✅ JOURNAL REFERENCE
DOI: 10.1093/jn/nxaa219
Greater microbial diversity was also observed in comparison to participants who didn’t have avocado meals. Microbial metabolites are compounds produced by the microbes that have an impact on health. Bile acids were reduced and short-chain fatty acids were increased with the consumption of avocados.
The study consisted of 163 obese or overweight but otherwise healthy individuals between the ages of 25 and 45. One meal was provided every day for either breakfast, lunch, or dinner with 1 group consuming an avocado with every meal, and the control group consuming the same meal but with no avocado.
Fecal, urine, and blood samples were provided during the 12-week study. How much of the provided meals they ate was also reported and everything they consumed every 4 weeks was recorded.
Individuals in this study weren’t advised to change or restrict what they consumed. They instead ate their normal diets except for substituting 1 meal daily with the meal the study provided.
The objective of this research was to take a look at the impact of avocado intake on the gastrointestinal microbiota and to test the theory that the gut microbiota is positively influenced by the fiber and the fats in avocados.
Avocados are full of fat, but the study discovered that although the avocado group participants ate somewhat more calories compared to the control group participants, they excreted more fat.
Greater excretion of fat indicates the individuals were taking in less energy from the consumption of foods. This was probably due to bile acid reductions, which are molecules secreted by the digestion system that enable fat absorption.
The researchers observed that the fat levels in the stool were greater and the bile acid levels in the stool were lower in the group that consumed the avocado. Different kinds of fats have a degree of difference in the effects on the microbiome.
Soluble fiber content is also of significance and consuming fiber is necessary for the microbiome. A medium avo delivers about 12 grams of fiber.
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