Choosing Foods for Diabetes: Think Avocado
Having diabetes means you probably question what you eat multiple times per day.
Will this food spike my blood sugar?
Can this food help my health in any way?
Sound familiar? It can feel overwhelming to plan your meals with diabetes but it doesn’t have to be. Instead of focusing so much on what foods you need to avoid, shift your focus to foods that you should be eating more often on your diabetes diet–one of the foods you want to eat is avocado!
This post has been created in partnership with Love One Today. All opinions are my own.
The health benefits of eating avocado with diabetes
Avocado is both incredibly unique and versatile. A sugar-free fruit option, 75% of the fat in fresh avocado is unsaturated fat – the good fat- that can be protective to the heart.[1] In fact, one study investigated the impact of three different diets (a low-fat diet, a moderate-fat diet without avocado, and a moderate-fat diet with avocado) on blood cholesterol levels in overweight and obese adults. Researchers found that the moderate-fat diet containing avocado reduced (bad) LDL cholesterol significantly more than the non-avocado diets. While the study findings cannot be applied to the general public due to the study size and other limitations, the results show promise for the heart healthy impacts of adding avocado to your meals!
And since having a diagnosis of diabetes increases your risk for heart disease, adding a food that may improve cholesterol levels is important.
Eating avocado on your diabetes meal plan may also promote healthy weight management. Avocados’ unique combination of fiber and fat can help keep you full and satisfied. And when you are less hungry, it gets a lot easier to manage your portions and cut down on in-between meal snacking (two things that can help improve body weight).
How to eat more avocado with diabetes
Avocado can also help to transform foods that seem ‘off-limits’ with diabetes into foods you can enjoy every day. As a healthy recipe swap, mashed avocado can be substituted in a 1:1 ratio for other forms of added fat when baking. This swap not only cuts down on bad saturated fat while increasing good-for-you unsaturated fats, but it can also help to increase both the nutrient and fiber content of the recipe as well.
Let’s say for instance you love sweet-tasting treats, but avoid them due to all of the added sugar and saturated fat. Try swapping it for this Dark Chocolate Avocado Mousse Smoothie. Thanks to the simple addition of fresh avocado, this smoothie contains mostly good-for-you unsaturated fat and you get an added boost of fiber.
Avocado can be added into almost any recipe. From adding creaminess to your next smoothie to offering a colorful topping on your salad, every meal is an opportunity to enjoy the taste and benefits of fresh avocado.
How will you enjoy avocado on your diabetes meal plan? Follow me on Instagram @erinpalinskiwade and use the tag #LoveOneToday to show me your favorite ways to add avocado onto your plate.
And if you need more avocado inspiration, head over to LoveOneToday.com for a huge selection of recipes along with all of the exciting new research on the benefits avocado can offer.
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