The key facts

  • Daily consumption of avocado and mango improved flow-mediated dilation in adults with prediabetes
  • The difference in changes between the groups was about 2.1 percentage points
  • Most other measures, including body weight, did not change significantly

What the trials showed

Including avocado and mango in the daily diet improved blood vessel function in adults with prediabetes — a condition of elevated blood sugar that does not yet meet the criteria for diabetes. This was reported by Gazeta.Ru, citing the results of an eight-week randomized study by the Illinois Institute of Technology, published in the journal Journal of the American Heart Association.

How the study was conducted

The trial involved 82 people with an average age of about 45 and an average body mass index of about 30. One group was given a diet with one avocado and one cup of diced mango daily; the control group received products of comparable calorie content but with low fat and fiber content.

Results and their limitations

The primary outcome was flow-mediated dilation — the ability of an artery to expand in response to increased blood flow, which reflects the condition of the endothelium, the inner layer of the vessel wall. On the fruit-based diet, the measure rose by about one percentage point, while in the control group it declined; the difference in changes between the groups was about 2.1 percentage points. Differences in the change in diastolic blood pressure, measured on the arm, were also recorded, especially among men.

What remained unchanged

At the same time, most of the other measures studied did not differ significantly, and the observed benefits were not accompanied by a meaningful change in body weight. The authors note that the avocado and mango diet increased intake of fiber, vitamin C, and monounsaturated fats, so the contribution of each component cannot be isolated. Earlier, Gazeta.Ru reported on a named way to reduce the risk of developing several heart diseases at once.