An apple a day keeps the doctor away? There’s a different fruit for the old adage.
Avocados have been shown to have plenty of health benefits, including improved sleep and digestion.
Now, new research has found the brunch menu staple is associated with a major health benefit for the heart.
Ever a popular toast topping, eating one avocado a day was shown to reduce the risk of heart disease in adults with obesity.
Published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology, researchers in the Penn State Department of Nutritional Sciences analyzed data from the Habitual Diet and Avocado Trial, where participants either consumed one avocado per day for 6 months or followed their typical diet.
The research team found that regular avocado consumption was associated with a reduced concentration of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles.
This reduction corresponds with a 4% reduced heart disease risk, despite waist circumference and weight not changing.
While a separate risk from LDL or “bad” cholesterol, LDL particles still pose a higher risk for those with abdominal obesity, even if their cholesterol levels are the same as those of someone with fewer LDL particles.
“Imagine two people with the same high levels of LDL cholesterol,” first study author Janhavi Damani said in a press release.
“Person A carries their cholesterol in fewer, larger LDL particles, and Person B carries their cholesterol in more, smaller LDL particles,” Damani said. “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.”
This is because the particles can easily penetrate artery walls and contribute to plaque buildup that restricts blood flow.
When someone’s heart is working in overdrive due to stress or exertion, blood pressure increases, which can trigger a cardiac event like a heart attack.
One of the notable findings from the study, though, was that participants’ diets, with the exception of adding avocado, were not changed.
Previous studies from Penn State had found that avocado consumption could reduce LDL cholesterol and levels of LDL particles.
However, the researchers controlled participants’ entire diets throughout the experiment.
“This study demonstrated benefits in the real world, where people’s diets are much less predictable,” senior study author Kristina Petersen said in a press release. “In the course of people’s normal lives, avocado consumption still contributes to a healthier diet.”
While the changes in cholesterol and LDL particles were modest, the research team believes it’s a step in the right direction toward reducing the risk of heart disease.
