(NewsNation) — Penn State University researchers have found eating one avocado a day may reduce the risk of heart disease for people with obesity
In the study, published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology, researchers found that daily avocado consumption was associated with a reduction of low-density lipoprotein particles, or the proteins that transport “bad cholesterol” in the body, Penn State said in a release. This corresponded to around a 4% drop in heart disease risk
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“Four percent is a modest reduction compared with the 14% to 29% lower heart disease risk associated with improving the overall diet,” Janhavi Damani, postdoctoral scholar in nutritional sciences at Penn State, said. “However, it is a step in the right direction.”
The researchers analyzed data collected from 786 participants with abdominal obesity in a previous Habitual Diet and Avocado Trial. Half of the participants were told to eat one avocado a day while maintaining their normal diet and exercise, while the other half were told to just maintain their normal diet and exercise
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Penn State researchers previously found regular avocado consumption could reduce LDL cholesterol (“bad cholesterol”) and LDL particle levels, but that study was with a controlled diet, Kristina Petersen, senior author of the study and associate professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State, said
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The recent study, however, “demonstrated benefits in the real world, where people’s diets are much less predictable,” Petersen explained. “In the course of people’s normal lives, avocado consumption still contributes to a healthier diet.”
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