Eating Avocado May Lower Diabetes Risk, Especially for Females

New research suggests that eating avocado may help lower the risk of type 2 diabetes in females but not males.
Avocado may be your first choice food at brunch thanks to its creamy texture and documented benefits on heart health. Now, new research has found that this popular food may lower your risk of diabetes.

A cross-sectional study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics investigated the relationship between avocado consumption and diabetes in adults.
This study examined a large sample of more than 28,000 adults of varying ages included in the Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey.

The researchers found that compared to those who did not consume avocados, avocado-consuming females showed a lower risk of diabetes.
However, while the study revealed a lower risk of diabetes for females who ate avocados, no significant association was observed in males.

Avocados and diabetes risk. What’s the link?
“Given what we know about the nutritional profile of avocados – they have good unsaturated fats, a good source of fiber, and a multitude of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, I’m not surprised to see these findings suggesting that eating avocados may play a role in lower diabetes risk,” she said.
Firstly, they’re rich in fiber.

“Eating foods with fiber helps with blood sugar management and satiety,” Bazilian explained. “As fiber makes its way through the digestive system, it slows down digestion which does two things: it makes us feel fuller for longer and also prevents rapid rises in blood glucose after we eat a meal.”
Both are important for reducing your risk of diabetes.
Secondly, avocados are high in unsaturated fat.

“Like fiber, fat slows digestion which can help promote blood sugar management and satiety,” Bazilian noted.
Another important aspect of the duo of unsaturated fats and fiber is that both these nutrients support heart
health.
“Diabetes and heart disease are closely linked because their risk factors are similar,” Bazilian explained. “Avocados are a heart-healthy food, and the unsaturated fat and fiber found in avocados can help to maintain healthy LDL cholesterol levels, which can help reduce the risk of heart disease.”

According to Bazilian, “what’s good for the heart is good for diabetes risk, blood sugar, and metabolic function and control.”
Finally, you might be surprised to learn that avocados are actually fruits.
“A healthy eating pattern that is predominantly plant foods, including fruits and vegetables, is associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and related CVD risk factors,” Bazilian pointed out.

“It’s also important to recognize that, unlike most other fruits, avocados contain no naturally occurring sugars and do not affect the glycemic response,” she added.”
Why avocados may help lower diabetes risk in females and not males
Interestingly, while the study found that eating avocados seems to reduce the risk of diabetes for females, no significant observations were shown in males.

Why might that be?
“The researchers point out that the difference in findings in men vs women may be attributed to the different lifestyle factors between men and women,” Bazilian noted. “Specifically, more men in the study tended to be smokers (~38%) compared to women (~12%), and smoking can increase the risk of developing diabetes.”
Registered dietitian nutritionist Kristen White agreed that differing lifestyle factors could be at play. Additionally, she said it’s possible that hormonal differences between males and females could contribute to variations in how avocados affect metabolic health.

While this particular finding is intriguing — maybe even confusing — Bazilian said it’s important to remember that sometimes we can’t always explain the results we see in nutrition research.
“This is why it’s important to both continue doing research and looking at the body of evidence on a topic and what other studies have shown,” she said.