Eating just half an avocado can kill desire to re-eat after meals

A new research suggests that adding one-half of a fresh avocado to a lunch may help healthy, overweight people feel more satisfied and reduce their desire to eat after a meal.

The pilot study, funded by the Hass Avocado Board, compared the effects of incorporating fresh Hass avocado into a lunch-either by replacing other foods or by simply adding it to the meal- to the effects of eating a standard lunch to determine how avocado consumption would influence satiety, blood sugar and insulin response and subsequent food intake.

The subjects were 26 healthy, overweight adults.

Researchers found that participants who added half of a fresh avocado to their lunch reported a significantly decreased desire to eat by 40 percent over a three-hour period, and by 28 percent over a five-hour period after the meal, compared to their desire to eat after a standard lunch without avocado. In addition, they reported increased feelings of satisfaction by 26 percent over the three hours following the meal.

"Satiety is an important factor in weight management, because people who feel satisfied are less likely to snack between meals," Joan Sabate, MD, DrPH, Chair of the Department of Nutrition who led the research team at Loma Linda University, said.

"We also noted that though adding avocados increased participants' calorie and carbohydrate intake at lunch, there was no increase in blood sugar levels beyond what was observed after eating the standard lunch. This leads us to believe that avocados potential role in blood sugar management is worth further investigation," Sabate added.

The study is published in Nutrition Journal.