A whole avocado every day helps cut cholesterol, study claims

A whole avocado every day helps cut cholesterol and could be the secret to a healthy heart, study claims

  • Study suggests avocados appear to interrupt the release of ‘bad’ cholesterol
  • Research shows that eating a WHOLE avocado a day can cut cholesterol levels
  • But there are fears that their large-scale production is harming the environment 

A whole avocado every day could be the secret to keeping heart disease at bay for overweight people.

Tests showed a 10 per cent cut in harmful cholesterol levels in seriously overweight volunteers who ate one a day for five weeks as part of a moderate-fat diet.

The fruit appears to interrupt the release of low-density lipoprotein, the ‘bad’ cholesterol that furs arteries and causes life-threatening blockages to the heart, say experts at Pennsylvania State University in the US.

Tests showed a 10 per cent cut in harmful cholesterol levels in seriously overweight volunteers who ate one a day for five weeks as part of a moderate-fat diet [File photo]

They tested 45 men and women aged 21-70 with a high Body Mass Index and high levels of LDL cholesterol. 

‘The fruits are a rich source of antioxidants and may play a part in the prevention of cardiovascular disease,’ says research published in the Journal of Nutrition.

However, the trial was funded by an avocado supplier and there are fears that large-scale production to meet worldwide demand is harming the environment in South and Central America where they are grown.

The fruit appears to interrupt the release of low-density lipoprotein, the ‘bad’ cholesterol that furs arteries and causes life-threatening blockages to the heart, say experts at Pennsylvania State University in the US [File photo]

The fruit appears to interrupt the release of low-density lipoprotein, the ‘bad’ cholesterol that furs arteries and causes life-threatening blockages to the heart, say experts at Pennsylvania State University in the US [File photo]