Avocado and Gut Health: Study finds positive effects on microbiome

Avocados have been referred to as a superfood, and for very good reason! Taken for granted for years in much-loved guacamole, and more recently made more popular by a brunch favourite - avo toast - this fruit (yes, fruit, not vegetable) is a delicious green package of nutrients and all-round goodness.

Thanks to a new study from the University of Illinois, we can now add gut health benefits to the list of avocado’s health-promoting powers. The study focused on changes to the gut microbiome (the community of microorganisms living in our gut) as a result of eating avocado daily. Why is this important? Because, the bacteria in your gut have a huge influence on health, metabolism, immunity, and more.

Th[e] study focused on changes to the gut microbiome as a result of eating avocado daily…the bacteria in your gut have a huge influence on health, metabolism, immunity, and more.

Luckily, due to the fruit’s versatility, there is virtually no end to the ways we can incorporate it into our daily meals. Who knows, it may even be time to change the well-known phrase to “an avocado a day keeps the doctor away”.

NUTRITIONAL AND HEALTH BENEFITS

Avocados are incredibly nutritious. They are a good source of many vitamins and minerals, including potassium, magnesium, iron and zinc. They are rich in both protein and fibre, and contain healthy polyunsaturated and monounsaturated vegetable fats.

Avocados are incredibly nutritious.

They are often (wrongly) avoided by the weight-conscious because of their high fat content, but it’s all good fats that are so important for combatting inflammation, and can even help reduce harmful cholesterol levels, making them heart-healthy (see the section on fat below for more info).

AVOCADO AND YOUR GUT

It turns out, the little avo is great for the gut in a variety of ways. For starters, it’s rich in soluble fibre (good for feeding the beneficial microbes that live in the gut) and so is great for helping us reach our fibre requirements, which the vast majority of us do not satisfy on a daily basis.

Specifically, the study concluded that the fats and fibre in avocado positively affect the gut’s microbiome, both in terms of its composition and the functions of the intestinal microbiota, and that this has a positive knock-on effect on gut health and health overall.

Adding avocado to just one meal a day can improve the diversity of the microbes in the gut.

What does this mean? Adding avocado to just one meal a day can improve the diversity of the microbes in the gut, meaning more good bacteria overall, and a better variety of the many different strains that live in our tum, as well as their healthy by-products. Gut microbes produce certain compounds, called metabolites, which in turn perform functions that support overall gut health.

Benefits of daily avo-eating include an increased concentration of the gut microbes that work to break down the fibre from our food. We cannot break down fibre ourselves, but specific gut microbes can, so when we eat avocado, we are multiplying those microbes, which means we are able to get the most benefits from the fibre content of the avocado itself, and anything else we eat. As was stated in the study itself: “When we consume dietary fibre, it's a win-win for gut microbes and for us." Avocados then, quite literally, feed the gut microbiota, in more ways than one.

Benefits of daily avo-eating include an increased concentration of the gut microbes that work to break down the fibre from our food.

The study also found that avocado consumption reduced bile acids and increased short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), changes which correlate with beneficial health outcomes. Indeed, SCFAs (important fuel for the cells lining the gut, known to strengthen gut-barrier function and maintain intestinal homeostasis) are notably reduced in patients with active IBD, compared to healthy individuals.

BUT WHAT ABOUT FAT?

There are different types of fat, both good and bad. The monounsaturated fats in avocado are the good, heart-healthy kind. Furthermore, although avocados are indeed rich in fat and calories, the study revealed that eating avocado results in greater fat excretion.

The monounsaturated fats in avocado are the good, heart-healthy kind.

Our digestive system secretes certain molecules called bile acids, which allow us to break down and absorb fat from our diet. The study found that avocado consumption resulted in a reduction of bile acids, which in turn led to a greater excretion of fat, which means a reduction in the absorption of energy from the food being eaten. In short: even though avocados are high in (good) fats and calories, regular consumption impacts digestion in such a way that less of that fat and calories are actually absorbed, but you still get the benefits of the good fats and all the newly-discovered gut-healthy effects.

This was not the focus of the study in question, however it was positively noted.

(For further discussion on the “fat debate” in general, read this post.)

STORING AND USING AVOCADOS

You know an avocado is ripe when its flesh yields slightly when you gently press the skin with your finger. They are ideally stored at room temperature, but to speed up the ripening process, you can keep them in a paper bag with either an apple or a banana. Alternatively, you can store them in the fridge in order to slow down the ripening process.

Avocado flesh discolours fairly quickly when it is exposed to the air due to oxidisation. You can counter this by squeezing some lemon or lime juice onto the cut flesh. If you are only using half an avocado, squeeze lemon juice on the leftover half, wrap tightly with cling film (or a more eco-friendly option, such as reusable silicone ‘food huggers’) and store in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

Extremely versatile, there is quite literally no end to how you can use avocado in your dishes and cooking.

Extremely versatile, there is quite literally no end to how you can use avocado in your dishes and cooking. They can be served hot or cold, added to salads, sandwiches, pasta, rice and grains, used in dips (hello guacamole!), sauces, salad dressings, soups, smoothies and are even a great addition to dairy-free desserts and ice cream because of their intense creaminess. You can grill them, bake them, mash them, slather onto toast, or just slice and eat as they are, the sky is (almost) the limit!

Try them in: Creamy Avocado Sauce

NOT FEELING THE AVO LOVE?

Sadly, avocados are not wonderful and gut-lovin’ for everybody. There are individuals who find them hard to digest, and have genuine digestive discomfort when they eat them. We all have our individual tolerances and (in)compatibilities with various foods, and avocado is no exception.

Barring an actual full-on allergy to avocado, there are those who have a hypersensitivity and intolerance to them. In fact, there is something called “latex-fruit syndrome”, which is thus named because of the connection to latex allergies: around 30%-50% of people who are allergic to natural rubber latex also have a hypersensitivity to certain plant foods - including avocados, but also bananas, tomatoes, kiwi and bell peppers - where ingestion of even a small amount can cause gastrointestinal issues (such as nausea, cramping and even vomiting).

We all have our individual tolerances and (in)compatibilities with various foods, and avocado is no exception.

FODMAP-intolerance is another reason why avocados may not be well tolerated. FODMAPs (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols) are sugars that are are poorly absorbed by the intestine, resulting in fermentation, which in turn causes bloating and general gut discomfort. Avocado contains a polyol called sorbitol, so if you are sensitive to FODMAPs you may have trouble digesting it. But don’t despair, it may simply be a matter of quantity: 1/8 of an avocado is considered low-FODMAP, so it may be worth trying this small portion to see how you fare with it before nixing avo completely.

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