BOSTON – Eating more avocados could help women stave off Type 2 diabetes, a new study found. 

Avocados contain antioxidants that can reduce inflammation and cell damage, which might increase the risk of chronic illness. They are also high in fat and fiber and don’t trigger spikes in glucose and insulin.  

In this study, a team of researchers, including two who work for the Avocado Nutrition Center, analyzed dietary information on more than 25,000 Mexican adults.  

They found that women who ate avocados showed a 22 percent to 29 percent lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. The same protective effect was not observed in men, and it’s not clear why. though hormonal shifts over a woman’s lifespan may contribute.  

And this doesn’t mean you can stave off diabetes just by eating avocados. Dietary experts say instead, you should consider incorporating avocados into an already healthy diet.

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.