Avocado Glycemic Index: A Healthy Option for Blood Sugar Control
Written by Isabel Vasquez RD, LDN
Managing blood sugars is a priority when it comes to preventing or managing diabetes. And let’s be real…as Latines, diabetes is a big concern for many of us! Unfortunately, we’re 60% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than non-Hispanic white adults, per the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Here at Your Latina Nutrition, we always encourage our clients and readers to enjoy their cultural foods and use them to promote health. Remember, there are so many other things that impact our diabetes risk besides just diet. Plus, our cultural foods have so much nutrition!
One of the best cultural foods for diabetes is avocado! Avocados are low in carbs, and high in heart-healthy fats and fiber. So they have a negligible effect on blood sugars.
Keep reading to learn more about avocado’s glycemic index, how avocados can improve blood sugars, and tips for adding more avocados to your diet.
What is the Glycemic Index (GI)?
Glycemic index (GI) is a measure of how much a food will raise your blood sugars. A higher number means it will spike your blood sugars more.
GI is rated on a scale from 0 to 100, with pure glucose (sugar) scoring 100—the biggest impact on blood sugar. There are three categories for the glycemic index of a food, per the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND):
Low: 0–55
Medium: 56–69
High: 70–100
The issue with only using GI is that it assumes you are eating the food alone and on an empty stomach, which isn’t typically how we eat. Here at Your Latina Nutrition, we’re always talking about how you can add nutrition to your meals, and this is partly why!
Avocado's Glycemic Index
The GI of avocado is so low that it is negligible. Avocados have no naturally occurring sugars, per the USDA, so they won’t raise your blood sugars. Plus, they’re full of fiber and healthy fats, which help slow digestion to prevent blood sugar spikes.
One avocado does have about 12 grams of total carbs, but it’s almost all in the form of fiber—a type of non-absorbable carb that doesn’t raise blood sugars, per the CDC.
Adding avocado is a great way to lower the glycemic load of a meal—a better measure of the real life impact of foods on your blood sugars.
Avocados are so good for blood sugars and overall health that the American Diabetes Association considers them to be a superstar food for diabetes!
Health Benefits of Avocados for Blood Sugar Regulation
Linked With Lower Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes
Studies show that eating avocados is linked with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
For example, a 2023 study in the Journal of Diabetes Mellitus evaluated the relationship between avocado intake and type 2 diabetes in US adults with Latine ancestry. In participants with prediabetes, eating avocados was linked with a significantly lower risk of going on to develop type 2 diabetes.
Another study—this one from 2025 in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics—examined the link between avocado intake and diabetes in Mexican adults. There were over 25,000 participants included in the study! The results showed that female participants who ate avocados regularly had a lower risk of diabetes.
Helps Manage Type 2 Diabetes
If you already have type 2 diabetes, studies show that avocados can help you manage your blood sugars.
A 2024 study in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease explored how eating avocados impacts Latines who have already been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
After evaluating data from almost 15,000 Latine adults, the researchers found that eating avocados was linked with better blood glucose, hemoglobin A1C, and insulin levels.
Full of Key Nutrients for Blood Sugar Management
Why do avocados benefit blood sugars so much? For one, they’re full of monounsaturated fats. This type of fat has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity, which helps sugar move from your blood to your cells more efficiently.
Eating more unsaturated fats (from foods like avocados) instead of saturated fats can also help promote healthy cholesterol levels. People with diabetes have a much higher risk of developing heart disease, per the CDC, so this is yet another reason to enjoy avocados if you have high blood sugars.
Avocados are also full of fiber. This is another key reason why avocados promote healthy blood sugars. Fiber is a type of carb that can help you manage diabetes, per the CDC. Since your body doesn’t break down and absorb fiber, it doesn’t spike blood sugars like other carbs.
One California avocado has over 9 grams of fiber, per the USDA. That’s about ⅓ of the daily value (DV)!
Incorporating Avocados to Promote Your Health
Avocados can easily be added to so many meals. In my beloved Dominican and Puerto Rican dishes, we often eat avocado with rice, beans, plantains, and chicken.
Here are some other ways avocados are present in our cultural foods, and ideas for how to add them to your dishes:
Top tacos, fajitas, or enchiladas with sliced avocado or guacamole
Dip quesadillas in guacamole
Add sliced avocado to menudo or pozole
Snack on tortilla chips and veggies dipped in guacamole
Add cubed avocado to rice and grain bowls
Blend avocado into smoothies for creaminess
Final Thoughts
Avocados are one of many cultural Latine foods worth celebrating! They’re full of heart-healthy fats and fiber to promote healthy blood sugars and cholesterol. Plus, they’re sugar-free so they’re glycemic index is negligible.
Numerous studies have demonstrated the benefits of eating avocados when it comes to preventing and managing diabetes. So add them to your tacos, rice bowls, smoothies, and more!
For education on how to ADD nutrition to your favorite Latine cultural dishes, make peace with food, and focus on your health without dieting, join our nutrition library for just $27/month.
If you liked this post, you may also like:
Is Corn Good for Diabetes? An In-Depth Guide
Red Beans vs. Kidney Beans: A Complete Nutrition Guide
Are Quesadillas Healthy? A Nutrition Breakdown of Quesadillas.
