A daily avocado may help to lower heart disease risk by reducing artery damaging LDL particles in the blood, particularly in obese people, according to a recent study. The researchers, whose findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology, said that after six months, participants experienced a decline associated with an estimated 4% reduction in cardiovascular risk.
“If people want to improve the quality of their diet, making one small change might be a more feasible strategy than attempting to change their entire diet," said Janhavi Damani, postdoctoral scholar at Penn State and first author of the study.
“For people with obesity, including avocados in their daily diet might be a good starting place.”
LDL particle count can reveal hidden heart risk
LDL particles are not the same measurement as LDL cholesterol, often called “bad cholesterol”. Both are associated with cardiovascular disease, but particle concentration can reveal risk that a standard cholesterol test may not show.
The researchers noted that this risk is often greater in people with abdominal obesity.
LDL cholesterol cannot travel through the bloodstream on its own. It must be carried by protein particles. Someone with more LDL carrying particles may face a greater risk of heart disease, even when their total amount of LDL cholesterol is the same as someone with fewer particles.
“Imagine two people with the same high levels of LDL cholesterol,” Damani said. “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 enter artery walls and contribute to plaque build-up, Damani explained. Plaque narrows blood vessels and makes them less flexible, increasing the strain on the cardiovascular system.
When the heart must work harder because of exercise, heat, stress or another cause, stiffened blood vessels may be less able to accommodate the increased blood flow. Blood pressure can then rise more sharply, potentially contributing to a cardiac event such as a heart attack.
One avocado daily
For the new analysis, the team examined data from 786 participants enrolled in the Habitual Diet and Avocado Trial. The six-month study included adults aged 25 and older.
Men qualified for the study if their waist circumference were greater than 101cm, while women were eligible if their waist circumference exceeded 88cm.
Half of the participants were asked to continue their usual diets and physical activity. The rest also maintained their normal routines but received one avocado to eat every day.
Earlier results from the Habitual Diet and Avocado Trial showed that adding a daily avocado did not reduce body weight or waist circumference in people with obesity. However, it appeared to lower LDL cholesterol levels.
Lowered LDL particle levels
For the current study, researchers compared blood samples collected at the beginning and end of the six-month trial.
Among participants assigned to eat one avocado per day, LDL particle concentrations fell by 49 nanomoles per litre. According to the researchers, that change corresponds to an estimated 4% reduction in heart disease risk.
“Four percent is a modest reduction compared with the 14%-29% lower heart disease risk associated with improving the overall diet,” Damani said. “However, it is a step in the right direction.”
The improvement in LDL particle levels was consistent across participants. Sex, race, ethnicity, age and body mass index did not significantly affect the likelihood of experiencing the benefit.
The findings suggest that adults with obesity from a wide range of backgrounds could potentially benefit from including avocados in their diets.
Benefit seen in real world diets
Previous Penn State research also found that avocado consumption could lower LDL cholesterol and LDL particle levels. In that earlier experiment, however, researchers closely controlled everything the participants ate.
Kristina Petersen, associate professor of nutritional sciences and senior author of this study, said that in the earlier, previous study, the researchers controlled participants’ entire diets throughout the experiment.
“But this new study demonstrated benefits in the real world, where people’s diets are much less predictable. In the course of people’s normal lives, avocado consumption still contributes to a healthier diet.”
The latest findings indicate that a single, manageable change may improve one measure of cardiovascular health even when the rest of a person’s diet remains largely unchanged. Although the benefit was modest and did not lead to weight loss, the researchers said it could still represent progress toward better heart health.
Study details
Effect of incorporating one avocado per day on lipoprotein particle concentrations compared to habitual intake in adults with abdominal obesity: An ancillary study of the Habitual Diet and Avocado Trial, a randomised controlled trial.
Janhavi Damani, Penny Kris-Etherton, Nirupa Matthan et al.
Published in Journal of Clinical Lipidology on 12 June 2026.
Abstract
Background
Avocado intake improves blood lipid profiles, but the effect on lipoprotein particles and subclasses is less clear.
Objective
The aim was to investigate the effect of consuming one avocado per day for 26 weeks on the change in lipoprotein particles and subclasses compared to a habitual diet without supplemental avocados in free-living adults with abdominal obesity.
Methods
This is an ancillary study of the Habitual Diet and Avocado Trial, a multicentre, parallel-arm, 26-week randomised controlled trial. The Avocado-supplemented Diet Group was provided with one avocado per day, and the Habitual Diet Group was instructed to follow their habitual diet. Fasting plasma samples collected at baseline and 26 weeks were analysed for concentrations of lipoprotein particles and subclasses (exploratory outcomes) using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Between-group differences in the 26-week change from baseline were evaluated using linear regression, with adjustment for study site.
Results
The analytical sample included 786 participants (74% female; aged 51 ± 14 years; body mass index 32.9 ± 5.4 kg/m2) with available data (Avocado-supplemented Diet Group: n = 389; Habitual Diet Group: n = 397). The Avocado-supplemented Diet Group had a reduction in total low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particle concentration (mean difference: −49.1 nmol/L; 95% CI: −83.6, −14.5; P = .005) compared to the Habitual Diet Group. No between-group differences were observed for LDL particle size and subclasses, triglyceride-rich lipoprotein particles, high-density lipoprotein particles, or apolipoproteins A or B.
Conclusion
Incorporating one avocado per day into habitual diets for 26 weeks reduced the concentration of atherogenic LDL particles without affecting other lipoprotein particles and subclasses in adults with abdominal obesity.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Daily avocado improves diet quality, lowers cholesterol – randomised US study
Avocado consumption associated with significantly lower CVD risk – Harvard
Heart health benefits of avocado