Avocado, The Anti High Blood Cholesterol Functional Fruit

By Kyle J. Norton

Avocado may process certain bioactive compounds with function in inhibiting the abnormal levels of blood cholesterol in the bloodstream, some scientists suggested.

Cholesterol produced by the liver or intake from food sources plays an important role in building the cell membranes walls and stimulated the production of steroid hormone and aided the digestive tract in absorbing the nutrients for our body need.

However, a prolonged period of overexpression of abnormal blood cholesterol in the bloodstream can cause plaque building up on the arterial wall, leading to heart diseases and stroke.

Depending on the choice of diet,  your risk of high blood cholesterol can be increased or decreased.

People who follow the Western diet with high in saturated and trans fat, red meat, processed food and low in fruits and vegetables and whole grains may have a substantially increased risk of abnormally high blood cholesterol.

According to the article “Western Diet and Heart Risk”, the author wrote, ““Western diets cause a third of heart attack deaths worldwide,” the Daily Mail reports. Western-style diets high in meat, fat, dairy and salt put people at higher risk of heart attack. According to the newspaper, a study has found that poor diet is responsible for 30% of the risk of heart disease”.

These results suggested that regardless of the levels of blood cholesterol today, by changing to a healthy diet and lifestyle with moderate exercise, you are at the lower risk of high blood cholesterol some in the future (weeks or months, depending to the levels of blood cholesterol today).

The healthy ratio of blood cholesterol is 4 (low-density lipoprotein) to 1 (high-density lipoprotein).

If your ratio is lower than 4, you are considered to have a healthy blood cholesterol ratio.

Avocado is a commercially valuable fruit cultivated in tropical climates throughout the world.

 It is a green-skinned, pear-shaped fruit that ripens after harvesting and native to the Caribbean, Mexico, South America, and Central America, belonging to the flowering plant family Lauraceae.

Researchers in the examine of traditionally consumed fruit avocado, use for the treatment of fat lowering capacity launched an experiment to evaluate the effect of hydro-alcoholic fruit extract of P. Americana (HAEPA) on the level of blood lipids, glutathione, lipid peroxidation products, adiponectin, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ expressions.

The study includes Male Sprague Dawley rats divided into four groups: groups 1 and 2 were fed normal rat chow (5% fat) and groups 3 and 4 were fed HFD (23% fat) for a period of 14 weeks. In addition, groups 2 and 4 rats were administered orally with 100 mg/kg body weight of HAEPA from the third week.

Rat group treated with additional HAEPA showed a significantly decreased the body mass index (BMI), total fat pad mass and adiposity index, compared to HFD-fed rats.

The LDL and lipid peroxidation levels of HFD+HAEPA group were significantly lower compared to HFD group.

Furthermore, Levels of reduced glutathione, an antioxidant enzyme, adiponectin, a protein hormone involved in regulating glucose levels and fatty acid breakdown. mRNA expression of adiponectin, PPAR-γ and protein expression of PPAR-γ in mediating expression of fat-specific genes and in activating the program of adipocyte differentiation were found to be increased in HFD+HAEPA group than in HFD group.

The findings suggested that HAEPA exhibits antihyperlipidemic activity by increasing the mRNA expression of adiponectin and PPAR-γ, which reduce the risk of hyperlipidemia and obesity.

In a study to examine the avocado oil administration effect on biochemical markers of cardiovascular risk profile in rats with metabolic changes induced by sucrose ingestion with 25 rats divided into five groups: a control group (CG; basic diet), a sick group (MC; basic diet plus 30% sucrose solution), and three other groups (MCao, MCac, and MCas; basic diet plus 30% sucrose solution plus olive oil and avocado oil extracted by centrifugation or using solvent, resp.), researchers found that
* Avocado oil reduces TG, VLDL, and LDL levels, in the LDL case significantly so, without affecting HDL levels.

* Avocado oil exerted a potential effect similar to olive oil in myocardial injury biochemical indicators.

* Avocado oil decreased hs-CRP levels, indicating that inflammatory processes were partially reversed.

Dr. Carvajal-Zarrabal O, the lead author wrote in the final paper, “avocado oil supplementation has a positive health outcome because it reduces inflammatory events and produces positive changes in the biochemical indicators “.

Taken altogether, avocado may be considered functional food for the prevention and treatment of high blood cholesterol without inducing side effects.

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal – The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it’s news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada – Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

References
(1) Effect of Persea americana (avocado) fruit extract on the level of expression of adiponectin and PPAR-γ in rats subjected to experimental hyperlipidemia and obesity by Monika P, Geetha A.(PubMed)
(2) Avocado oil supplementation modifies cardiovascular risk profile markers in a rat model of sucrose-induced metabolic changes by Carvajal-Zarrabal O1, Nolasco-Hipolito C2, Aguilar-Uscanga MG3, Melo-Santiesteban G4, Hayward-Jones PM1, Barradas-Dermitz DM5.(PubMed)