Many people are now drafting their Christmas dinner shopping lists, featuring staples like potatoes, parsnips, and a succulent turkey. But one nutritionist suggests that another little-known product is certainly worth adding – especially for those concerned about cholesterol.
Dr Kevin Huffman, a bariatric physician and CEO of Ambari Nutrition, believes that avocado oil can have a big impact on the health of your festive meal. This is largely due to ‘monounsaturated fats’, which may help to cut the ‘bad cholesterol’ in your blood.
“These oils are monounsaturated fats, which means they contain far more nutrients, and can improve your cholesterol levels,” he told Patient, before adding: “Transforming mashed potatoes into cauliflower mash [also] offers a creative, nutritious swap for side dishes.”
Dr Huffman’s endorsement of avocado oil is echoed by other experts, including two researchers from China’s Hunan Agricultural University who detailed its impressive benefits in a recent scientific review. Fatty acids and a rich quantity of ‘phytosterols’ were among the several components they looked at, with the latter linked with potentially reduced cholesterol levels.
“Avocado oil has a protective effect against hyperlipidaemia, lowering TC, TG, and LDL-C levels and protecting high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, a behaviour that can be attributed to high levels of MUFA, phytosterols, and tocopherols,” the study experts wrote.
Later, they added: “The outstanding potential of avocado oil as a health food has many benefits, among which the intrinsic nutrients of fatty acids, phytosterols, PCs, tocopherols and fat-soluble pigments have been studied more comprehensively. However, studies on whether other fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamin K) present in avocados enter avocado oil during the extraction process, as well as their contents, stability and biological activities, are still insufficient.”
You can purchase avocado oil from various supermarkets including g Sainsbury’sat£3.00, Tesco’s at £4.15 or Morrisons for £3.00. It’s often described as having a ‘neutral taste’ but is prized especially for giving potatoes a crisp finish when roasting.
In addition, Edward Mather from FuelHub, also advised against using too much oil in general, while substituting traditional stuffing for whole grain stuffing. He said: “Swapping traditional stuffing for whole grain stuffing (use whole grain bread or quinoa instead of white bread) will boost fibre content and provide more complex carbohydrates as opposed to simple carbs.
“Switching to desserts, using dark chocolate (less than 70% cocoa) as a dip for fruits like strawberries and bananas is a good alternative to traditional Christmas puddings.”
He later added: “The Christmas period usually involves a lot of eating and this can take it’s toll on the digestive system. If this is a concern for you, add yoghurt and kefir to your shopping list. They contain probiotics – good bacteria – which improves the gut microbiota. This aids digestion and reduces constipation, so increasing consumption of yoghurt can be a good idea.”