MISSION VIEJO, Calif. – As thousands of nutrition professionals prepare to gather at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ annual Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo TM (FNCE®) taking place October 3-6 in Nashville, Tenn., the Hass Avocado Board (HAB) is gearing up to share the latest from its nutrition research and marketing program with attendees. Understanding the vital role health professionals play in communicating with consumers about overall health and dietary practice, HAB is offering a variety of opportunities for conference-goers to learn more about the attributes and benefits of avocados to human health.
New this year at HAB’s expo booth #1323 is a comfortable presentation area designated as the Avocado Goodness Community Lounge. Attendees can participate in 15-minute science-based information sessions in which HAB Director of Nutrition Nikki Ford, PhD, will discuss the latest science on how avocados connect with HAB’s research “pillars”: cardiovascular health, healthy living and weight management/Type 2 diabetes. HAB is also bringing back Chef Michael Carey – a Houston-based caterer who was immensely popular at the 2014 FNCE expo located in that city – to oversee mouthwatering food sampling at HAB’s booth.
For more avocado inspiration aside from HAB’s booth, FNCE attendees can attend a one-hour culinary demonstration titled “Culinary Explorations with Good Fats: How to Love Them Every Day,” led by Monica Reinagel, MS, LD, and Chef Carey. This demonstration will take place on Sunday, Oct. 4, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Culinary Demonstration Theater (Expo Hall C). Attendance will earn professionals one CPE credit.
“HAB continues to make significant investments in researching nutritional benefits of avocados, and FNCE provides a perfect opportunity to emphasize those findings to the food and nutrition professionals who are on the front lines of engaging with Americans about health and wellness,” said Emiliano Escobedo, Executive Director of HAB. “Driving more consumers to ultimately ‘love one today’ starts by arming these professionals with the science they need to effectively convey that avocados are a delicious, cholesterol-free source of naturally good fats.”
Continuing to encourage Americans to include fresh avocados in everyday healthy eating plans is the center of HAB’s Love One Today® food and wellness education program. The Love One Today booth will put particular focus on the versatility of fresh avocados and how they may also help promote optimal nutrition, as suggested by HAB’s research on avocado consumption and nutrient intake. This research includes:
Cardiovascular Health
- A moderate fat diet that includes one fresh avocado daily showed greater improvement in certain blood lipid markers when compared to an energy matched moderate fat diet without avocado or a low fat diet without avocado, according research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The randomized, cross-over, controlled feeding trial on 45 healthy overweight and obese men and women investigated how including one fresh avocado in a moderate fat diet (AV) would affect cholesterol levels, compared to an energy-matched moderate fat (MF) or low fat (LF) diet without avocado. Researchers found that overweight and obese men and women who followed the AV diet experienced a reduction in the ratio of low density lipoprotein cholesterol to high density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C/HDL-C) and the ratio of total cholesterol (TC) to HDL-C compared to the MF or LF diet without avocado.
- A pilot study conducted by UCLA’s Center for Human Nutrition and published in the Journal Food and Function investigated the effects of eating half of an avocado with a hamburger patties on 11 healthy male subjects, The study found that adding one half of a fresh avocado instead of eating the hamburger patty alone may have limited the post-meal increase in certain compounds that contribute to inflammation.
Healthy Living
- A study on 12 healthy men and women conducted by Ohio State University and published in the Journal of Nutrition showed that eating fresh avocado with either tomato sauce or raw carrots significantly enhanced absorption of alpha- and beta-carotene (inactive forms of Vitamin A) and conversion of these carotenoids to an active form of vitamin A.
- An analysis of data from the Survey (NHANES 2001-2008 including 17,567 U.S. adults ages 19 years and older) published in Nutrition Journal showed that, compared to people who didn’t eat avocado, avocado consumers had better diet quality and nutrient intake levels; lower intakes of added sugars; lower body weight, BMI and waist circumferences; higher “good cholesterol” levels; and lower metabolic syndrome risk.
Weight Management/Type 2 Diabetes
- A study conducted by Loma Linda University Medical Center and published in Nutrition Journal investigated whether eating half an avocado with lunch would contribute to feelings of satiety and reduce the desire to eat between meals among 26 subjects. The results found that adding avocado to a lunch meal increased satisfaction and subjects had less desire to eat over a subsequent five-hour period than those who ate the same lunch meal without the avocado.
In addition to the educational sessions where guests can learn more about the unique benefits of avocados, the Love One Today booth will also feature fresh avocado recipe sampling and a fun, interactive photo experience where attendees can declare their favorite way to enjoy avocados.
About the Hass Avocado Board
The Hass Avocado Board (HAB) is an agriculture promotion group established in 2002 to promote the consumption of Hass Avocados in the United States. A 12-member board representing domestic producers and importers of Hass Avocados directs HAB’s promotion, research and information programs under supervision of the United States Department of Agriculture.
In 2010, HAB established a Nutrition Research program to increase awareness and improve understanding of the unique benefits of avocados to human health and nutrition. The Nutrition Research program is an integral part of Love One Today, HAB’s multiyear, science-based food and wellness education program to encourage Americans to include fresh Hass avocados in everyday healthy eating plans. For more information, visit www.LoveOneToday.com/research or follow HAB on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube.
Source: Hass Avocado Board