Low-fat avocados are pointless, say leading health experts

They'e just another example of how society demonises all types of fat

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While millennials are quick to consume avocados by the bucket load, be it smashed on toast or blended in a morning smoothie, it can be easy to forget how fat-laden they really are.

It makes sense then that someone should come up with a way to make the fruit even more appealing to the masses.

Enter, the diet avocado.

Created by Spanish company Isla Bonita, the new, lighter version has a third less fat than normal avocados, an average-sized one of which typically contains 322 calories and 30 grams of fat.

And as an extra bonus, they also ripen much faster and crucially have a slower oxidation rate, meaning they turn brown a lot slower.

But, do we really need them? Health professionals think not.

Another example of how society demonises all types of fat, Ruth Kander, Consultant Dietitian at Your Diet Matters says those found in standard avocados are mostly monosaturated, which have been linked to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.

isla-bonita-avocado.jpg, by Sarah Young

“They also contain vitamins such as B group which are essential for metabolism and vitamin E which is good for antioxidant health,” Kander told The Independent.

“Avocados as part of a healthy balanced diet are a great food to have.”

Leading Harley Street Nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert - whose forthcoming book Re-Nourish: A Simple Way To Eat Well is released December 28 - agrees, adding, “A concern is that these so-called 'diet' avocados share a negative message by demonising a natural, whole fruit which is widely encouraged as part of a healthy balanced diet,” she told The Independent.

“One aspect of a healthy relationship with food is eating with pleasure and without shame.

“Anything that fuels the diet culture rife today will only contribute to unhealthy relationships with food.”

While the NHS recommends eating just one half of an avocado as a portion size because of thir high fat content, Lambert also fears “that some will see a ‘diet avocado’ as an opportunity to eat twice as much.”

With the initial launch later this month at a trade show in Madrid, Isla Bonita’s new diet version will be available year-round but, for now at least, is going to be sold exclusively in Spain.