November will be National Diabetes Month in the US, so it's time to pay attention to the risks involved with diabetes and what can be done about them. According to the CDC, 30 million adults in the US are living with diabetes, and another 88 million are what's considered pre-diabetic. Prediabetics have blood sugar levels higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetic.
At a time when we're not only thinking about diabetes, but when many of us are thinking about our general health more than ever, an expert has some exciting news about avocados. Avocados really are a super superfood: they're packed with vitamins, nutrients, and heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids, they can lower cholesterol, and they might even help prevent cancer.
As if they needed to work harder, Food Science Professor and Co-Founder of SP Nutraceuticals Dr. Paul Spanguolo says that avocados are key for both diabetics and prediabetics. All of the aforementioned benefits of avocados provide a healthy foundation, he explains, but a recent discovery made by his team is specifically promising for regulating blood sugar levels.
It is explained how Avocatin B (AvoB) is a bioactive naturally found in certain avocados. Dr. Spanguolo: "When we talk about bioactives, think of it like the nutrients we get from other foods: we get Omega-3 fatty acids from eating fish and Vitamin C from oranges. AvoB is a bioactive ingredient in avocados, which can be an important dietary choice for diabetics and prediabetics."
"When your metabolism is working, everything is in balance," Dr. Spanguolo says." You have ideal levels of blood sugar, good cholesterol, blood pressure, etc. If your metabolism has become inefficient, you are burning either glucose or fat, one more than the other, causing a build-up of either one in your blood."
