Here at Nutrition con Sabor, we help Latinas learn how their heritage foods can help support their health, especially for PCOS!
It’s easy to forget that avocado is a Latino food, but it is! Avocados are native to Mexico and have been a major part of Mexican diets for centuries (if not longer).
With the low-fat craze of the 1990s, many people thought they should limit avocados. But over the last decade, we’ve come to understand the benefits of avocado, from gut health to inflammation, and more!
This has caused the avocado to have something of a renaissance in the last decade.
So if all the back and forth has you unsure if you should be eating avocado for PCOS, read on!
This blog post will cover what makes avocado good for PCOS, and show you how to include them in your diet.
Let’s get started!
Benefits of Avocado for PCOS
We know avocados are healthy, but can they help PCOS?
While not much research has tested out avocados’ effect on PCOS symptoms directly, we know that a lot of the important nutrients for PCOS are found in avocados.
Here are some of the potential health benefits of avocado for PCOS:
1. Beat PCOS Cravings
For many women with PCOS, their biggest frustration is the cravings. There’s emerging evidence suggesting people with PCOS may get hungry more frequently (1).
Adding in nutrients that help you stay full can help manage PCOS cravings. This includes fiber and fat, both of which can help you stay full (2). Combining fiber and fat can enhance the feeling of fullness, as well (3).
This makes avocado a perfect food to help manage cravings, because it is high in fiber and a good source of unsaturated fats (4).
2. Balance Blood Sugar
Insulin resistance is common in PCOS. Insulin resistance can lead to big swings in your blood sugar that make you feel sluggish and lightheaded during the day.
Adding fiber, like that found in avocado, to your meals can help improve blood sugar both immediately after the meal and in the long run (5, 6).
Some studies have even shown replacing some carbohydrates with avocado improves blood sugar control over time (7).
3. Reduce Risk of Heart Disease
Having PCOS increases your risk for high blood pressure and chronic heart disease.
Avocado can be a good heart-healthy choice because they’re high in both fiber and unsaturated fats. A study by the American Heart Association suggests higher avocado consumption is associated with a lower risk of heart disease (8).
4. Reduce Inflammation
Women with PCOS tend to have higher rates of chronic inflammation (9). This may be part of how PCOS develops, and it also may contribute to the higher risk of other chronic conditions that women with PCOS face.
This is why incorporating anti-inflammatory foods is an important component of PCOS nutrition.
Avocados make a great choice to help fight inflammation in PCOS. Both the unsaturated fat in avocados and the vitamin E may help fight inflammation (10, 11).
5. Help Fertility
PCOS is one of the leading causes of infertility. So your PCOS diet should also take this into consideration, depending on your personal goals.
Fat plays an important role in fertility, but not all fat is the same! Higher intake of healthy unsaturated fats combined with a lower intake of trans and saturated fats improves fertility (12, 13).
Avocados are a great source of monounsaturated fats (14). In addition to these healthy fats, avocados are a source of other important nutrients for fertility, pregnancy, and breastfeeding including potassium, folate, and lutein (15).
Ways to incorporate
Adding avocado can make most meals a little more PCOS-friendly! Here are some ways to add avocado to your diet.
Avocado Recipes for PCOS
- Avocado toast: Avocado toast has become very popular in the last decade, but it’s been a staple breakfast in Latin America for a long time. You can always just add avocado to a slice of bread, but if you want something a little more luxurious, give this recipe a try.
- Guasacaca (avocado sauce): This simple avocado sauce is a staple in Venezuelan food, and it goes well with practically anything!
- Guacamole: It wouldn’t be a list of avocado recipes without guacamole! Guacamole dates back to pre-Hispanic times and is one of the easiest ways to add a bit of avocado to any Mexican meal.
Add avocado to your favorite Latin American meals
One of the great things about Latin American food is how much it uses garnishes and sauces to add extra vegetables.
You can do this with avocado, too! Here are some quick and easy ways to add avocado to any Latin American meal:
- Add sliced or cubed avocado on top of tostadas, soups, eggs, or any main dish.
- Drizzle avocado salsa on top of tacos or a burrito bowl
- Dip your favorite vegetables or chips in guacamole
- Serve simple sliced avocado as a side salad
Final Thoughts
For people with PCOS, nutrition changes can seem overwhelming and confusing. Even more so for Latinas, who may struggle with wanting to eat their favorite cultural foods but lacking examples of how they can help with PCOS.
Fortunately, there are plenty of Latin American heritage foods that are a good fit for a pcos-friendly diet, including avocados.
Avocados are anti-inflammatory and a good source of fiber and healthy fats. They are also a really easy way to add extra vegetables to almost any Latin American meal, making them an ideal food for Latinas with PCOS.
Wondering how you can incorporate any of your favorite heritage foods into a PCOS-friendly meal plan? Check out my PCOS Food List for Latinas! This guide will help you build balanced PCOS-friendly plates using your favorite Latin American ingredients. Get your copy below!