Healthy Fats, Happy Blood Sugar: Avos Are A Great Ally in Diabetes Management

Avocados, full of healthy fats, fibre, and important nutrients, have been in the spotlight for their potential health benefits, especially when it comes to blood sugar control. This is good to know, with over 500 million people living with diabetes, a condition that affects how your body uses glucose (blood sugar).

With World Diabetes Day around the corner (14 November), it’s a great time to talk about how diet may play a role in managing and preventing type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes 101

Diabetes is a condition that impacts how your body uses sugar (glucose), our body’s main source of energy. Normally, your body breaks down food into glucose, and a hormone called insulin helps move that glucose into your cells to give you energy.  In diabetes, either your body doesn’t make enough insulin (type 1 diabetes), or the insulin it makes doesn’t work properly (type 2 diabetes).

As a result, sugar builds up in your blood instead of being taken up by the body cells, which can cause health problems over time. Although type 2 diabetes is more prevalent, managing these conditions is about keeping blood sugar levels stable, often through diet, exercise, and sometimes medication or insulin.

Why You Should Add Avocados to Your Plate

Avocados can be a healthy part of a balanced diet, especially if you are living with diabetes. This is mostly thanks to the healthy fats and fibre that work towards managing blood sugar levels and reducing inflammation.

And the research keeps supporting this. A new study in Mexico looked at how eating avocados affects diabetes risk. Researchers found that people who ate more avocados had a lower risk of developing diabetes, and this was particularly true for women. This may be due to the good monounsaturated fats, fibre, and other compounds in avocados that help improve how the body uses insulin and reduce inflammation.

Another interesting study, published in the Journal of Nutrition in 2023 used a new way of looking at food by measuring how certain compounds from avocados show up in the blood after eating. These compounds were linked to lower blood sugar and better insulin sensitivity, meaning the body could use insulin more effectively. This research could help guide more personalized nutrition advice in the future, based on how different people respond to certain foods.

Diabetes-Friendly Avo Recipes

Including avocados in your meals, along with other nutritious foods and an active lifestyle, may be a simple addition to support blood glucose levels. That’s why you should consider making avocados a regular feature on your shopping list, and then try out these delicious recipes courtesy of the South African Avocado Growers Association.

Avocado Chocolate Mousse

Serves 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 250 g good quality dark chocolate, chopped
• 2 large ripe avocados
• 120 ml milk (or a little more for preferred consistency)
  1-2 tablespoon honey (optional)

For the garnish:

• Fresh berries
• Grated dark chocolate

Method:

1. Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and microwave on medium heat using 30-second bursts (stirring between each) or set over a pan of lightly simmering water. Do not allow the base of the bowl to touch the water (stirring frequently) until melted and smooth.

NOTE: When the chocolate is almost melted, remove from the heat and just stir through until smooth to avoid over-heating. Set aside to cool slightly whilst you prepare the other ingredients.

2. Cut the avocados in half and de-seed. Scoop the flesh into the bowl of a food processor.
   Add ¾ of the milk to the avocado and blend until smooth.
3. Add the melted chocolate to the blender and blend with the other ingredients until smooth.
   Scrape down the sides of the blender bowl and add the rest of the milk, a tablespoon at a time, blending until the mousse is the desired consistency (it will thicken a little further as it cools and sets).
4. Taste the mousse for sweetness. If you feel it needs more sweetness (it will very much depend on personal preference and on the type of chocolate used), add a little honey (1-2 tablespoons) and blend again. You may also choose to add more milk than the recipe indicates if you want your mousse to be ‘looser’.
5. Garnish with chocolate shavings and fresh berries and serve.

Although it will keep well for 3 to 4 days, the mousse is best when eaten when freshly made.

Avocado Chocolate Brownies

A 23 cm baking dish allows for 9 pieces
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 large or 2 medium, ripe avocados, skin, and pit removed
• ½ cup pure maple syrup, honey, or agave syrup
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup plain flour
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon salt or pinch of sea salt
• ½ cup chocolate chips or cocoa nibs

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 °C and line a lightly greased 23 cm baking dish.
2. In a food processor, add the avocado, maple syrup, and sugar. Blend well. Then add the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix well so that all the ingredients are blended. Make sure to scrape down the sides.
3. Slowly add the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa and stir well.
4. Turn off the processor and remove the blade. Stir in the chocolate chips using a spoon or spatula.
5. Spread the batter into the baking dish. Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until done. Test the middle of the batter with a knife or toothpick to make sure nothing sticks.
6. Remove from the heat and let cool before cutting into squares.

Avocado Chocolate Pudding

Number of servings: 2
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 0 minutes
Total time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• ¼ ripe, fresh avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and diced
• ½ banana
• 2 dates, pitted, and soaked in boiling water
• ½ teaspoon cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

1. Drain the dates and chop. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend to a smooth purée.
2. Serve.

References

1. International Diabetes Federation. South Africa Key Information. Accessed 12 September 2024. Available from: https://idf.org/our-network/regions-and-members/africa/members/south-africa/
2. Cheng FW, Rodríguez-Ramírez S, Shamah-Levy T, Pérez-Tepayo S, Ford NA. Association Between Avocado Consumption and Diabetes in Mexican Adults: Results From the 2012, 2016, and 2018 Mexican National Health and Nutrition Surveys. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2024 Apr 21:S2212-2672(24)00192-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2024.04.012. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38648888.
3. Wood AC, Goodarzi MO, Senn MK, Gadgil MD, Graca G, Allison MA, Tzoulaki I, Mi MY, Greenland P, Ebbels T, Elliott P, Tracy RP, Herrington DM, Rotter JI. Associations between Metabolomic Biomarkers of Avocado Intake and Glycemia in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. J Nutr. 2023 Oct;153(10):2797-2807. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.07.013. Epub 2023 Aug 9. PMID: 37562669; PMCID: PMC10925911.
4. Brown E, Garcia R, Martinez S, et al. Avocado supplementation, and its effects on insulin sensitivity in patients with prediabetes. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2020;17(1):48.
5. Lee J, Kim S, Park E, et al. Effects of an avocado-enriched diet on insulin resistance and lipid profile in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Nutr Diabetes. 2022;8(5):17.
6. Patel R, Thompson K, Smith D, et al. Avocado consumption, and its impact on glucose metabolism: a randomized controlled trial in individuals with diabetes. J Nutr. 2021;41(2):123-130.
7. Rodriguez M, Perez L, Gonzalez F, et al. Metabolomic biomarkers of avocado intake and their association with glycemia: a cross-sectional study. J Clin Nutr. 2018;36(7):891-899