With a buttery and soft consistency, avocado is the ideal ingredient to enrich smoothies, salads and sauces. But it is also a healthy choice. In fact, according to a recent scientific study published in the Journal of Nutrition by an American team of the Pennsylvania State University (Wang et al, Feb 2020), an avocado a day would help fight bad cholesterol and chronic inflammation.
When we read the blood test, immediately we look for the LDL values, namely bad cholesterol. Actually, the term LDL refers to several particles of different sizes, large, medium and small. The small ones are called sdLDL, or small dense LDL. Once oxidized, it is believed that the sdLDL particles increase the cardiovascular risk and the levels of chronic inflammation. Long-term chronic inflammation may cause obesity, depression, tumors and weakening of the immune system. The researchers tried to understand the effects of taking an avocado once a day on oxidized sdLDL levels. To do this, 45 people, between men and women, aged 21 to 70, overweight and with high LDL values ??were recruited. The people were divided into three groups. One group was asked to follow a low-fat diet, the second group a moderate-fat diet that included taking an avocado per day, the third group a medium-fat diet that included the use of vegetable oils with a lipid profile similar to avocado. After 5 weeks what turned out was that the diet that included an avocado per day had significantly reduced oxidized sdLDL levels compared to the other two diets. Not only that, the amount of lutein in the blood had also increased. Lutein is a powerful antioxidant with proven anti-inflammatory properties.
