A recent study reveals that consuming an avocado daily for six months enhances diet quality, cholesterol levels, and sleep.
The research discovered sleep benefits despite its initial focus on cardiovascular health.
Nutrition experts suggest foods like walnuts, tart cherry juice, and salmon offer similar health advantages.
Daily avocado consumption over six months resulted in improved sleep quality, better cholesterol levels, and higher diet quality, according to the latest research findings.
The study, backed by the Avocado Nutrition Center, involved 969 U.S. adults with abdominal obesity who typically ate no more than two avocados per month.
Participants were divided into groups: one consumed an avocado daily, while others maintained their usual intake of less than two avocados monthly, without needing to change anything else about their diets.
The researchers employed a modified version of the American Heart Association's Life’s Essential 8 score to evaluate cardiovascular health. A higher score indicates better heart health based on factors such as diet, physical activity, and quality sleep.
Daily avocado intake did not enhance overall cardiovascular health scores but significantly improved diet quality, sleep, and blood lipids.
"These results suggest that substantial improvements across most cardiovascular health components are needed to detect changes in the Life’s Essential 8 metric," Janhavi Damani, MS, PhD, lead author of the study and postdoctoral researcher at Penn State University's Diet & Cardiometabolic Health Lab, told Verywell.
Damani noted that gradual yet consistent dietary modifications and lifestyle adjustments are crucial for "meaningful improvements" in cardiovascular health.
The sleep health and duration improved significantly among daily avocado consumers.
"This was a cardiovascular trial, making the sleep benefits more compelling as they emerged unexpectedly from a well-designed randomized controlled trial," said John Saito, MD, spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and pulmonologist at Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) in an email to Verywell.
Although avocados are not sleep remedies, they contain beneficial nutrients like magnesium, potassium, and healthy fats that support sleep.
"Consuming balanced meals regularly with a mix of healthy fats, complex carbs, and protein helps maintain your circadian rhythm," Saito explained.
Avocados provide "healthy" monounsaturated fats; replacing saturated fats such as butter and cheese with avocado helps lower heart disease risk, preceding studies have shown.
A single avocado offers 10 grams of fiber known to reduce cholesterol levels and minimize heart disease risk by forming a gel that binds bile acids and "bad" cholesterol in the small intestine, removing them from the body, according to Judy Simon, MS, RDN, FAND, a clinical dietitian nutritionist at UW Medical Center.
Excessive LDL or "bad" cholesterol can lead to artery buildup, causing chest pain or heart attacks.
While avocados are part of a healthy fiber-rich diet that improves sleep, they may not be suitable for everyone due to dietary restrictions.
"One should avoid daily avocado intake if they have an allergy to it or follow diets low in potassium, FODMAPs, or a very low-fat diet as advised by their healthcare provider," stated Jamie Mok, MS, RD, a registered dietitian based in Los Angeles and spokesman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in an email to Verywell.
Other foods such as walnuts, tart cherry juice, oily fish like salmon, and certain herbal teas may offer similar benefits, particularly for sleep; however, additional research is required.
To incorporate more avocados into your diet, add them to dressings, eggs, baked potatoes, smoothies, or sandwiches without needing to consume one daily, according to Simon.
"I don't believe any single food can address all health needs," Simon commented.