Avocados May Help Prevent Oral Cancer

Avocados have high folic acid content, the lack of which has been linked to the development of cardiovascular and Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, the phytochemicals in this fruit has been recently shown to have cancer-fighting potentials, particularly in oral cancer.

D’Ambrosio, who collaborated with researchers in Ohio State’s College of Pharmacy, found that phytochemicals extracted from avocados target multiple signaling pathways and increase the amount of reactive oxygen within the cells, leading to cell death in pre-cancerous cell lines. But the phytochemicals did not harm normal cells.

“These studies suggest that individual and a combination of phytochemicals from the avocado fruit may offer an advantageous dietary strategy in cancer prevention,” says Ding, who is a member of the division of radiobiology, department of radiology.

I love avocados! I know there used to be concerns about its being high in fat, but more recent medical opinion is that most of the fat in an avocado is monounsaturated – the “good” kind that actually lowers cholesterol levels.