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An avocado a day could have benefits for your cholesterol—here’s what to know.

Reviewed by Dietitian Katey Davidson, M.Sc.FN, RD, CPT

Key Points

• Eating one avocado daily for six months reduced LDL particle concentration in a new study.
• The drop in LDL particles may lower heart disease risk by about 4%, researchers estimate.
• Avocados offer heart-healthy fats, fiber and nutrients, making them a smart addition to your diet.

You’ve likely heard that high LDL cholesterol (or the so-called “bad” cholesterol) is a major risk factor for heart disease. But there’s another marker that often flies under the radar when it comes to your heart health: LDL particle concentration. And a new study suggests that eating one avocado a day may significantly reduce it, at least in adults with obesity.

Published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology, the research found that adults with abdominal obesity who added one avocado per day to their regular diet lowered their LDL particle concentration by 49 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L) over six months, which may lead to a lower risk of heart disease.

Here’s what the study found and what it means for your heart health.

How Was This Study Conducted?

Researchers at Penn State University analyzed blood sample data from 786 adults who participated in the Habitual Diet and Avocado Trial, a large multicenter, randomized controlled trial. To be eligible, men needed a waist circumference greater than 40 inches and women greater than 35 inches.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups for six months. The avocado group was provided with one large avocado per day and instructed to eat it while otherwise following their usual diet and activity levels. The control group continued their regular diet with no avocado intervention. Blood samples were collected at the beginning and end of the study to measure changes in LDL particle concentration, LDL cholesterol and other lipid markers.

Neither group received dietary counseling, which the researchers note makes the findings more applicable to real-world conditions where people’s diets are less predictable.

What Did The Study Find?

After six months, the avocado group had a 49 nmol/L greater reduction in LDL particle concentration compared to the control group, which the researchers estimate could correspond to approximately a 4% lower risk of heart disease. That estimate was based on previous research linking LDL particle concentration to cardiovascular disease risk, rather than cardiovascular events measured in this study. This means the findings suggest a potential benefit but cannot show that eating avocados directly prevents heart disease.

The researchers also found that the LDL particle benefit appeared consistently across subgroups, regardless of participants’ sex, age, race, ethnicity or body mass index. This finding suggests that the effect was applicable across adults with obesity rather than limited to a specific demographic.

The researchers were candid about the size of the benefit. “Four percent is a modest reduction compared with the 14% to 29% lower heart disease risk associated with improving the overall diet,” said Janhavi Damani, Ph.D., postdoctoral scholar in nutritional sciences at Penn State and first author of the study, in a media release. “However, it is a step in the right direction.”

Additionally, the study was supported by the Avocado Nutrition Center, which is a potential source of bias worth noting when interpreting the results.

What Is LDL Particle Concentration and Why Does It Matter?

Standard cholesterol tests measure the total amount of LDL cholesterol in your blood. But LDL cholesterol doesn’t travel through your bloodstream on its own—instead, it is carried inside particles called lipoproteins. LDL particle concentration measures how many of those particles are circulating in your blood, which can provide additional insight beyond LDL cholesterol levels alone.

Two people can have identical LDL cholesterol levels but very different heart disease risks depending on the size and number of the LDL particles. “Imagine two people with the same high levels of LDL cholesterol,” said Damani in the press release. “Person A carries their cholesterol in fewer, larger LDL particles, and Person B carries their cholesterol in more, smaller LDL particles. Person B’s heart disease risk would be higher because their overall particle count is higher even though a test of their LDL cholesterol would look identical.”

Smaller LDL particles can more easily penetrate artery walls and contribute to the buildup of plaque, which can raise your risk of atherosclerosis. This risk is particularly relevant for people with abdominal obesity, who tend to have a higher proportion of smaller, denser LDL particles.

How Does This Apply to Real Life?

Since the participants simply added one avocado to their usual diet without being placed on a controlled meal plan, the results reflect what might happen in the context of daily life rather than a laboratory setting.

Avocados are a rich source of monounsaturated fat, dietary fiber, potassium and various antioxidants, all of which are essential for cardiovascular health. While the mechanisms behind the LDL particle reduction seen in this study aren’t fully established, the monounsaturated fat content in particular has been associated with favorable shifts in LDL cholesterol profiles in previous research.

If you have obesity and are looking for a sustainable dietary change to help support your heart health, daily avocado is a delicious place to start. Still, it’s worth remembering that a single dietary addition isn’t a substitute for an overall heart-healthy eating pattern. The researchers themselves noted that improving overall diet quality is associated with a far larger reduction in heart disease risk than this single change alone.

We should also acknowledge that avocados are fairly calorie-dense, at around 322 calories per large fruit. Adding one daily avocado to your diet would be most beneficial when it replaces less healthy foods. Consider swapping foods high in saturated fat for healthier fats like avocado—which could mean using avocado instead of butter on your toast or topping your taco with avocado instead of cheese. Need some heart-healthy meal ideas to help you get started? Here are just a few we love:

And while this study is an interesting one, if you’re looking to address your elevated heart disease risk, we’d recommend you speak with a healthcare provider or a registered dietitian. They’ll be able to offer you more personalized advice that makes sense for your health.

Our Expert Take

A new randomized trial published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology found that eating one avocado a day for six months reduced LDL particle concentration by 49 nmol/L in adults with obesity. Researchers estimate this reduction corresponds to an approximately 4% lower heart disease risk. While avocados are not a standalone solution to heart disease risk, this study suggests that they can be a valuable part of a heart-healthy diet.