Educating health professionals on the nutritional benefits of avocados

Each year, Australia’s horticultural producers grow six million tonnes of fruits, vegetables and nuts to nourish people around Australia and the world. The 2023/24 Australian-grown Horticulture Sustainability Framework aims to develop ‘healthier, nourishing diets through increased consumption of readily available, affordable Australian-grown fruits, vegetables and nuts.’

To encourage the healthy consumption of horticultural produce, Hort Innovation invests in research about the nutritional benefits of horticultural produce and programs designed to convey that information to healthcare professionals such as dietitians.

Efforts underway in the avocado industry

The avocado industry runs a project that delivers evidence-based information about Australian avocados to healthcare and food service professionals across Australia. By improving the awareness, knowledge and attitude of health professionals to the nutrition and health benefits of avocado, they will be encouraged to recommend avocado to their clients, or include avocado in their menus, and ultimately help drive Australian avocado purchase and consumption.

The project team is responsible for a range of activities, including:

• Establishing a digital hub that houses nutritional resources on avocados such as recipes, meal plans and local and international research on the health benefits of avocados.
• Conducting a systematic literature review on avocados and health outcomes. This research has underpinned all other project activities.
• Communicating with health professionals via a range of channels such as roundtable discussions, media releases, social media toolkits, a regular e-newsletter and participating at industry conferences. The project team is also working collaboratively with relevant professional associations and health influencers.
• Running farm tours to connect health professionals with avocado growers and showcasing key growing regions and varieties to demonstrate the breadth of the avocado industry.

Hear from the project team and participants

“Educating health professionals on the nutrition and health benefits of Australian avocados has been a valuable three-year program, delivering evidence-based information to dietitians, general  practitioners, and fitness professionals. The program has improved the awareness, knowledge and attitude of health professionals, encouraging them to recommend avocados to their clients and ultimately help to drive avocado purchase and consumption.”

Penny Eustace, APD, Bite Communications project manager

“The avocado health professional program helped to raise awareness of the many nutrition and health benefits of avocados, as well as their culinary versatility. Importantly, it also helped to reassure health professionals that avocados are great for weight management and also useful for people wanting to manage their blood glucose levels. It’s a welcome message that something so delicious to eat is also nutrient-dense and has a range of health benefits for all ages.”

Nicole Senior, APD, project sub‑contractor

“I had the honour of attending the Australian Avocados Farm Tour at Donovan Farms in Central Queensland earlier this year. As a Dietitian and nutrition content creator, I found it extremely beneficial to see the farm-to-table process first hand from Australian avocado growers and receive the latest avocado health and nutrition information. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and one that has encouraged me to recommend Australian avocados and their health benefits even more!”

Rebecca Gawthorne – Dietitian & Nutritionist