A study conducted by The Ohio State University (published in the June 2014 edition of The Journal of Nutrition) found that combining certain foods with avocado can enhance the absorption of certain nutrients. This research investigated if fresh avocado, when eaten with either an orange-colored, high beta-carotene tomato sauce or raw carrots, would promote the absorption of provitamin A carotenoids and the conversion of these carotenoids to an active form of vitamin A. The researchers found that when avocado is eaten with raw carrots or orange-colored tomato sauce, the absorption of vitamin A was in fact increased. Vitamin A helps to support skin health, immune function and vision. Specifically, the study found that:
– Eating avocado with tomatoes or carrots significantly increased absorption of beta-carotene 2.4 times and 6.6 times respectively compared to eating tomatoes or carrots without avocado.
– Eating avocado with carrots more than quadrupled the absorption of alpha-carotene when compared to eating carrots without avocado.
– Eating avocado with tomatoes or carrots significantly increased the conversion of provitamin A, the inactive form to vitamin A , the active form more than eating tomatoes or carrots without avocado.
You can read more about this research here.