AvobarAvocados are in the news quite a lot aren’t they? Of all the fruit and veg out there, I’d say more has been written about the delicious avo than most of the other options out there.
Perhaps most notably, avocados were blamed for millennials not being able to afford their own houses, rather than, oh I don’t know, years of austerity, inflation, an unstable job market and house prices steadily rising astronomically faster than wages.
Well now it’s time for some sweet, sweet millennial payback. Rather than skimping out on avocados to save money, you could be getting paid to eat them instead! Imagine!
Avocado lovers are being sought by scientists who want to know, for once and for all, whether their green goodness can actually trim belly fat or not.
The humble avocado, which is technically a fruit (or, more specifically, a berry), has often confused healthy eaters as to whether it really is a superfood, or whether its higher fat content than other fruits means it ain’t so.
Loma Linda University in California is looking to put that dispute to bed, and is seeking 250 avo eaters to take part in the study.
Joan Sabaté, who directs the Centre for Nutrition, Lifestyle and Disease Prevention at the university, said:
The study will examine whether eating one avocado per day reduces visceral adipose fat in the abdomen.
The study also states that participants must:
1. Be 25 years of age or older
2. Be willing to either eat one avocado per day for six months or eat only two avocados per month for the same period
3. Measure at least 40 inches around the waist if they are male, or
4. Measure at least 35 inches around the waist if they are female
Participants will be randomly assigned to one of the two groups and, crucially, avocados will be supplied by the researchers. The test group will be eating avocados every day, while the control group must eat no more than two per month
Selected avo eaters will then receive a free MRI and health screening, and asked to attend a monthly meeting with a dietician.
Upon successful completion of the study, each participant will be paid $300, and members of the control will be given an additional 24 avocados to enjoy.
In addition to LLU, Penn State University, Tufts University and the University of California are also carrying out the experiment, meaning a total of 1,000 people will take part in the tasty challenge.
If you’re interested, you can enrol in the study here.
GettyIf you do take part in the study, please remember to be careful when slicing your avocados.
According to the British Society for Surgery of the Hand, the rise in avocado related injuries has sky rocketed recently, The Times reported.
The middle-class epidemic of hands being sliced open thanks to sharp knives gliding through soft avocados has been a genuine concern lately, with doctors treating a handful (thanks) of people each week with the injury.
Take care out there, healthy eaters!
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.