According to a recent study, eating one avocado daily can lower harmful cholesterol. According to Penn State researchers, eating one avocado every day for six months reduced dangerous cholesterol levels. Although it didn’t cause any weight loss whatsoever, the “good” fats in avocados also didn’t have any detrimental effects on a person’s stomach fat or waist size.
A new study shows avocados can be an addition to a balanced diet
Although earlier research has suggested that consuming avocados can help people lose weight, the new study is the largest so far that examines avocados’ wide range of health benefits. It should be noted that the Hass Avocado Board supported the study.
Evan Pugh University Professor of Nutritional Sciences Penny Kris-Etherton, “While the avocados did not affect belly fat or weight gain, the study still provides evidence that avocados can be a beneficial addition to a well-balanced diet. Incorporating an avocado per day in this study did not cause weight gain and also caused a slight decrease in LDL cholesterol, which are all important findings for better health.”
Co-author Kristina Petersen said that following dietary guidelines from most Americans is poor, and the study findings suggest that consuming an avocado daily can considerably increase overall diet quality. Petersen explained that it is vital because high diet quality is related to a low risk of various diseases such as Type II diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.
Eating avocado daily is not related to weight gain
The group planned a six-month study and enrolled more than 1,000 obese or overweight adults. Each day, one avocado was consumed by 50% of the subjects. The other 50% maintained their regular diet while consuming no more than two avocados each month. Before and throughout the study, the team used an MRI to measure participants’ waist circumference and fat levels.
Eating one avocado per day was not associated with weight gain, but it didn’t lead to clinically meaningful reductions in belly fat or other cardiometabolic risk factors. However, avocado consumption showed a relation to a 2.9 mg/dL drop in cholesterol.
