The Mission Viejo, Calif.-based Hass Avocado Board is supporting National Diabetes Awareness Month, creating awareness for research into the role avocados play in promoting good gut health and expanding access to its Avocado Quality Manual Guide to Best Practices, said Emiliano Escobedo, executive director.
“Every November, the community comes together to bring attention to diabetes and the impact it has on millions and millions of people in the U.S.,” Escobedo said.
Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S., he said, hence the support of the American Diabetes Association for the special month-long observance.
Up to 95% of diagnosed cases of diabetes are type 2 diabetes, Escobedo said.
That’s why the disease is one of HAB’s Love One Today Campaign’s four Strategic Health Pillars, along with heart health, weight management and healthy living.
“We’ve been communicating the benefits avocados have for type 2 diabetes management for several years,” Escobedo said. “We fund research on type 2 diabetes.”
Avocados, which are free of sugar, sodium and cholesterol and a good source of fiber, can play a role in helping to control diabetes, he said.
During the current campaign, HAB will “educate health professionals and work with credible social media influencers” to raise awareness about the role avocados can play among general and Hispanic market consumers.
HAB has developed a program that enables health professionals to earn continuing education credits through a podcast that highlights HAB’s diabetes-focused research.
To support the campaign, HAB created a handout and a refrigerator magnet meal planning tool called The Dish on Avocados and Type 2 Diabetes.
“This was created with health professionals in mind where they can get the latest research, nutrition tips and recipe inspiration all in one place,” Escobedo said.
A free download is available to health professionals as well as consumers.
“Our strategy is to educate health professionals who talk to patients and consumers about changing their eating habits,” he said.
HAB also has supported research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
A study involving 163 overweight adults who ate one avocado a day for 12 weeks showed that they had increased bacteria diversity and that avocados can play a role in managing digestive tract microorganisms known as the microbiome, Escobedo said.
Another study supported by the board suggested that avocados, which are rich in fiber, can help support gut health.
HAB is trying to educate consumers and health professionals about how avocados can help increase fiber, Escobedo said.
Finally, earlier this year, the Hass Avocado Board released an avocado handling guide for the trade that describes best practices for each step of the supply chain.
The guide is divided into seven sections:
- Packinghouses in California;
- Packinghouses outside California;
- Transportation;
- Distribution centers;
- Repackers and fruit ripeners;
- Retail sales of green and ripened fruit; and
- Identifying common fruit defects.
The handling guide was very well received, and the board received requests to put out a Spanish language version, Escobedo said.
English and Spanish versions of the comprehensive Avocado Quality Manual now are available at no charge from HAB’s website — Hassavocadoboard.com.
“We’re very proud of the quality manual,” Escobedo said.
The best practices guide took years to create, he said, and is a “collaborative effort across the supply chain.”
“It encourages each part of the supply chain to work with the others.”
