Blog

August 7

August can be a tricky month in the healthy lifestyle calendar year. Officially, it is still the throes of Summer, as the thermometer and thick air so often remind us. Unofficially, with back-to-school ramping up all month across the US, it is most often a transition month, back to the routine. For some, getting back into the routine feels like losing something - perhaps the freedom of a less intense schedule - and may create a time crunch as the lazy days of summer wane. For others, that same shift can feel more like an exhale - a return to the order of a predictable schedule - packed as it may be. Neither sensation changes the facts: no matter the season, it's always the right time to invest in our health, even if only a little. With this in mind, this week we searched for simple strategies, proven in research yet accessible enough for those wanting meaningful results to integrate into real life. We found two that fit the bill. Both are randomized controlled trials, often considered the gold standard for scientific rigor. Both tested interventions designed to improve metabolic health (abdominal fat and blood markers) in adults who were at risk, but not being treated for any specific disease.

The first builds on a theme we've discussed previously: while consistency typically beats intensity, enough volume, all at once, can level the playing field for weekend warriors. The study, published in Nature Communications in January, showed that compared to a placebo group (which learned about exercise but wasn't required to complete any), both the group doing high-intensity interval training once per week AND the group doing it three times per week saw positive metabolic changes. Over the course of 32 weeks, both groups lost inches and body fat, although blood markers were generally unchanged. Specifically, the training plan was a high-intensity walking program. After a 4-week ramp-up period designed to ready bodies for heavier training loads, the plan included a 5-minute warm-up (zone 1 cardio as explained here), four near-max-effort intervals lasting 4 minutes each (achieving high zone 4 or low zone 5 heart rates) with 3 minutes of active recovery (zone 2) in between. The intervals were then followed by a 5-minute cool down, meaning the entire workout required 35 minutes. Participants were randomly assigned to complete the workout 3 times per week to achieve 12 total intervals (group 1), or to complete all 12 intervals in 3 rounds on the same day separated by a 15-30 minute break between bouts. In practical terms, the workout entails 5 minutes at an easy pace, 4 minutes as fast as you can walk (uphill if a flat surface isn't challenging enough) followed by 3 minutes of recovery at a pace slow enough to carry on a conversation. This sequence is repeated until the higher intensity effort has been completed four times, followed by 5 minutes of easy walking to cool down. The results were impressive. Both groups achieved meaningful body fat reductions (2-3%) and improved cardiorespiratory fitness. Although the group training three times per week performed slightly better than those performing the weekend warrior, all-at-once protocol, the differences were small.

The second study might be even simpler. Penn State University researchers decided to further examine data from the Habitual Diet and Avocado Trial (HAT), a privately funded research collaborative studying the impact of eating 1 avocado daily for 6 months in a group with metabolic risk and/or obesity, which began in 2021. What they found was certainly intriguing; however, first, a disclaimer: the private funding for HAT comes from HAAS, an avocado industry group. However, despite their very clear vision to make the avocado "America's preferred healthy food at every meal," they are a small player, not even appearing on the top 50 industry groups by lobbying spend, so we felt the risk of major bias was acceptable. Now, the results. 

Since the original 2022 research on daily avocado consumption, which sadly did not show a meaningful difference in visceral fat, subsequent reviews of the data have shown promise, including improved diet quality and gut microbiome makeup for the individuals in the trial. Now, in this June 2026 study, researchers found that daily consumption was associated with reductions in the concentration of LDL particles - the protein bits that carry "bad" (LDL) cholesterol throughout the body. Researchers estimate the change equates to a 4% risk reduction, which is meaningful but modest. To put this in perspective, lifestyle heavy hitters like smoking cessation, overall healthy eating patterns, and adequate physical activity might be expected to lower risk by 20-40% and the humble avocado is not quite ready to dethrone a daily serving of beans (38% risk reduction) and greens (12-15% risk reduction), but for those of us who feel there's no bad time for a good guacamole, it's a recipe we can feel good about.

MOVE intensely, FUEL with intent, and enjoy what's left of Summer.

Have a great weekend,

Mike E.