Avocado and guacamole intake and bowel cancer risk in people
What it found
Eating avocados or guacamole was not linked to bowel cancer risk in a large group of people followed for about 19 years.
The authors found no difference across ethnic groups or parts of the bowel.
What they found
Studies in people
No link to bowel cancer
People who ate avocados or guacamole at least once a week had about the same rate of bowel cancer as those who ate less than one serving a month. This held true after accounting for age, weight, smoking, and overall diet quality.
Same across ethnic groups
The lack of a link was seen in all racial and ethnic groups studied, including Latino, White, Japanese American, African American, and Native Hawaiian participants.
Same across bowel areas
The researchers looked separately at cancers in the right colon, left colon, and rectum. They found no connection between avocado or guacamole intake and cancer in any of these specific areas.
Animal and lab studies
Lab studies showed promise
Earlier tests on cells in the lab found that certain plant compounds in avocados could slow down tumor cell growth. Half an avocado also provides 4.6 grams of fiber and 6.7 grams of monounsaturated fat, which other research has linked to lower cancer risk.
What the authors conclude
- They did not find that eating avocados or guacamole changes the risk of getting bowel cancer in their large, diverse group of participants.
- They suggest future research should measure plain avocado and guacamole separately, since mixing them together may have hidden any real effects.
- They note that most people in the study ate far less avocado than the amounts used in clinical trials, which typically test one whole avocado per day.
How it was done
Bowel cancer is a leading cause of cancer death, but diet may help prevent it. Avocados contain fiber and plant compounds that earlier lab work suggested might protect against this cancer, so the authors wanted to check if eating them actually lowers risk in people.
The researchers tracked 192,651 adults from California and Hawaii over an average of 19 years. Participants filled out food questionnaires and were grouped by how often they ate avocados or guacamole. Cancer registries recorded 5,522 new cases of bowel cancer during the follow-up.
What it can’t tell you
- Because this study followed people over time rather than assigning diets, it can only show a link, not prove that avocados do or do not cause changes in cancer risk.
- The food questionnaire asked about avocados and guacamole together, so it cannot separate the effects of plain avocado from guacamole made with added salt, oil, or mayo.
- Most participants ate very little avocado, so the study cannot rule out whether eating much larger daily amounts might have a different effect.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by NCI NIH HHS (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- A conflict of interest disclosure statement; additional information is available at this link: Conflict of Interest Policy. FWC and NAF are employees of the Hass Avocado Board. CAH, LRW, LLM, and SYP declare no potential conflicts of interest.
- Authors work at
- Avocado Nutrition Center, USA; University of Hawaii Cancer Center, USA; University of Southern California, USA
The paper
- Title
- Avocado and Guacamole Consumption and Colorectal Cancer Risk: The Multiethnic Cohort Study
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Cheng FW, Park SY, Haiman CA, Wilkens LR, Le Marchand L, Ford NA (2024). Avocado and Guacamole Consumption and Colorectal Cancer Risk: The Multiethnic Cohort Study. Nutrition and cancer. doi:10.1080/01635581.2024.2320950Free full textPubMed 38425005DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error