We’ve all heard that an apple a day can help keep the doctor away, but did you know an avocado a day can also have health benefits as well? Avocado health benefits are substantial, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association which indicates that eating an avocado daily as part of a heart-healthy, moderate-fat diet can actually help improve cholesterol levels in overweight or obese individuals.
Participants were placed on one of three cholesterol-lowering diets: one moderate-fat diet with an avocado, one moderate-fat diet without avocado, and one low-fat diet without avocado.
Researchers found that compared to the baseline average American diet, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) — the so called ‘bad cholesterol’ — was 13.5 mg/dL lower after consuming the moderate fat diet that included an avocado.
LDL was also lower on a moderate fat diet without the avocado (8.3 mg/dL lower) and the lower fat diet (7.4 mg/dL lower), though the results were not as striking as the avocado diet.
Several additional blood measurements were also more favorable after the avocado diet versus the other two cholesterol-lowering diets as well: total cholesterol, triglycerides, small dense LDL, non-HDL cholesterol, and others.
Information gathered from Science Daily.
