Could an Avocado-Rich Diet Change Lipid Profiles?

Replacing solid fats and foods with higher saturated fat content with avocados can markedly change lipid profiles and reduce bad cholesterol, according to a new meta-analysis.

A group of researchers at the University of the Pacific evaluated 10 studies with 229 participants, in an effort to gauge the impact of avocados on cholesterol levels. The team found that consuming 1 to 1.5 avocados per day greatly reduced total cholesterol, “bad” low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglycerides when they were eaten in place of sources of saturated fat. The investigators also concluded that avocado consumption did not affect “good” high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL).
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While noting that further study is needed to determine the ideal amount of avocado and frequency of use—as well as the nutritional similarities and differences between other sources of monounsaturated fatty acids—the authors point out that their study revealed “significant reductions” in bad cholesterol, even among healthy subjects with relatively normal baseline levels of total cholesterol, LDL-C, and triglycerides.

“Lifestyle changes are prescribed as the first line of treatment or concurrent to lipid-lowering medications for patients with abnormal lipid values,” says study co-author Sachin A. Shah, PharmD, an associate professor of pharmacy practice at the University of the Pacific’s TJ Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

The analysis demonstrates the degree of benefit that can be derived from a simple dietary intervention, says Shah, and should serve as a reminder to ask patients to substitute saturated fat intake with healthier fat sources such as avocados or nuts, for example.

“There is a difference in eating a regular cheeseburger and adding avocados to it versus eating the burger with an avocado spread and skipping the cheese,” adds Shah. “Lifestyle and diet-based interventions can have a great degree of health benefit, and their use should be bolstered.”

—Mark McGraw

Reference

Peou S, Milliard-Hasting B, et al. Impact of avocado-enriched diets on plasma lipoproteins: A meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Lipidology. 2015;10(1):161–171.