Consumption of avocados helps fight aging and protects against heart disease and cancer, scientists say.
Avocado oil is believed to have a beneficial effect against free radicals. They are often found in the mitochondria, the cells that convert the food we eat into energy. Harmful molecules stop energy production and damage cells.
Many antioxidant ingredients in fruits and vegetables are effective against free radicals, but they cannot "make their way" inside the mitochondria, scientists explain. However, ingredients in avocados have such an effect, according to the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Unstable free radicals are waste products of metabolism that can be generated in larger quantities due to factors such as pollution, tobacco smoke, radiation. They harm the body, causing chain reactions that destroy cell membranes, proteins and even DNA.
This phenomenon is one of the main drivers of aging, and plays an important role in arterial damage and cancer.
Researchers have found that avocado oil helps cells survive exposure to high concentrations of iron, an element that produces "huge amounts" of free radicals.
Avocado oil is similar in composition to olive oil, the consumption of which is associated with unusually low levels of chronic diseases in some Mediterranean countries, experts explain.
A previous study in Mexico, the largest producer of avocados, found that the fruit lowers blood cholesterol levels and some fats associated with diabetes.