LIFESTYLE NEWS - As much as 80 per cent of heart disease (and stroke) can be prevented through a healthy lifestyle, such as regular exercise, quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and, of course, a healthy and balanced diet.
One standout food that should form part of a healthy and balanced diet is avocado. This is because avocados contain key nutrients that help improve the health of the heart, like monounsaturated fats, potassium, and fibre.
Avocados are also naturally cholesterol- and sodium-free.
For good heart health, you want to aim for high levels of good HDL cholesterol, while keeping total cholesterol and bad LDL-cholesterol levels at bay. It’s also important to keep triglycerides in check, a type of fat in the blood.
Looking into the impact of avocado-containing diets on various heart-health markers, when avocados replaced bad saturated fats, researchers found a drop in total cholesterol, bad LDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides, with a rise in HDL-cholesterol, too.
Adding more support to these findings, in 2020 a trial published in the Journal of Nutrition, found that eating one avocado daily lowers bad LDL cholesterol.
The variety of nutrients found in avocados offer a nutritional win that earns this amazing fruit a place on a heart-healthy menu. And this may not only improve our heart health, but other heart disease risk factors can be favourably affected too, like high blood pressure, inflammation, and blood glucose and insulin levels, as well as metabolic syndrome, fat around the belly, and weight.
Avo merry-berry smoothie
Serves 2
You’ll need: 1 ripe avocado, peeled; 1 cup frozen berries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries; 1 ½ cups milk of your choice; 2 teaspoons honey (optional).
How to:
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
Divide between two glasses, serve immediately.
