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Does Eating Avocado Improve Cholesterol Levels?

Avocado modestly lowers total and LDL cholesterol in small trials, mainly in people with high cholesterol. HDL and triglycerides show no consistent change.

Published October 2026

Short answer

Yes, a little: about one avocado a day modestly lowers total and LDL cholesterol, mainly when it replaces less healthy fats. Evidence is limited and mostly short-term. Evidence grade C (Limited). Meta-analyses of small randomised trials with inconsistent results; downgraded for inconsistency and because cholesterol is a surrogate marker.

Key takeaways

  • Across 10 small trials (229 people), avocado lowered total cholesterol by 18.8 mg/dL and LDL cholesterol by 16.5 mg/dL [1].
  • The newest review of 9 trials (503 people) found a smaller overall effect, with total cholesterol down 5.1 mg/dL, but LDL down 9.4 mg/dL in people with high cholesterol [2].
  • HDL cholesterol shows no consistent change: one review found a 2.8 mg/dL rise, while others found no difference [3][2].
  • Triglycerides fell 17.4% when one avocado a day replaced solid fats and added sugars in adults with high triglycerides, but reviews overall found no consistent effect [4][2].
  • One avocado a day did not cause weight gain and caused no more side effects than control diets in trials lasting up to 6 months [5][6].

The short version

Yes, eating about one avocado a day modestly improves cholesterol levels, mainly by lowering total and LDL ("bad") cholesterol [2][1]. The benefit is clearest in people with high cholesterol and when Avocado replaces saturated fats or sugary foods rather than being added on top [2][4]. There is no consistent effect on HDL ("good") cholesterol or triglycerides across reviews [3][2].

What the studies show

A 2016 meta-analysis of 10 trials (229 people) found avocado lowered total cholesterol by 18.8 mg/dL, LDL cholesterol by 16.5 mg/dL and triglycerides by 27.2 mg/dL, with no change in HDL cholesterol [1]. A 2018 meta-analysis of 7 trials found a different pattern: HDL cholesterol rose by 2.8 mg/dL, while total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides did not differ from control [3]. The most recent 2024 meta-analysis of 9 trials (503 people) plus a large cohort found total cholesterol fell by 5.1 mg/dL overall, with no overall difference in LDL, HDL or triglycerides [2]. In people with high cholesterol, LDL fell by 9.4 mg/dL and total cholesterol by 7.5 mg/dL, with no difference in people with normal cholesterol [2]. A 2025 umbrella review of 8 reviews reached a similar conclusion: LDL fell by about 9 to 17 mg/dL and total cholesterol fell in people with abnormal lipids, while HDL and triglyceride results were inconsistent [7].

Tightly controlled feeding trials point the same way. In a 5-week crossover trial in 45 adults with overweight and raised LDL, one Hass avocado (136 g) a day lowered LDL by 13.5 mg/dL and non-HDL cholesterol by 14.6 mg/dL, more than matching fats from high-oleic oils or a lower-fat diet, and only the avocado diet lowered LDL particle number and small dense LDL [8]. In the same trial, the avocado diet lowered oxidised LDL by 7.0 U/L (8.8%) and raised plasma lutein by 68.7%, changes not seen with the other diets [9]. In a 3-week crossover feeding trial in 42 adults with raised triglycerides (135 to 499 mg/dL), replacing solid fats and added sugars with one avocado a day (about 180 g) lowered non-HDL cholesterol by 4.7%, triglycerides by 17.4% and small LDL by 13.9% compared with a typical American diet [4]. In a 6-month trial in 1008 adults with a large waist, adding one large avocado a day to the usual diet did not shrink visceral fat but produced small extra drops in total and LDL cholesterol [10]. By contrast, in 200 stroke survivors, an avocado-based Mediterranean diet for 3 months did not lower LDL more than a low-fat diet (66.5 versus 69.9 mg/dL, P=0.50) [6].

The nuances

Benefits were largest when avocado replaced other fats rather than being added to the usual diet: the early review concluded that substituting dietary fats with avocado should be the main strategy [1]. Most trials were short (3 to 5 weeks in feeding trials, up to 6 months in the large trial) and small, and reviews noted large differences between trial results with low to very low certainty [2][1][3]. No trial measured heart attacks or strokes: cholesterol is a blood marker, not a heart outcome, and no study reported clinical heart events [3]. One recent feeding trial disclosed funding and fees involving the Hass Avocado Board among other food and drug companies [4].

Avocado did not cause weight gain in trials: an 8-trial meta-analysis (657 people) found no change in weight, body mass index or body fat [5], and the 2024 review found body weight and composition were not harmed [2]. The stroke-prevention pilot found no more side effects with the avocado Mediterranean diet than with a low-fat diet [6]. The cholesterol trials above report no data on pregnancy, breastfeeding or medicine interactions, and no upper limit for avocado as a food has been set; trial doses were about one fruit a day (136 to 180 g) for 3 weeks to 6 months [8][4][10].

Trials used whole Hass avocado pulp, typically one fruit a day [8][10].

What this means for you

Swapping butter, fatty meats or sugary snacks for avocado fits the pattern that lowered cholesterol in trials, while simply adding avocado on top of the usual diet gave only small extra drops in cholesterol [1][10][4]. Avocado is a high-calorie food, but trials did not show weight gain when it was eaten in place of other foods [5][2]. Anyone taking cholesterol medicines or managing a heart condition may want to talk to a clinician before making large diet changes. More detail is on the Avocado page.

Go deeper

  • Avocado — Eating about one avocado a day modestly lowers total and LDL cholesterol, especially in people with high cholesterol.

References

  1. Impact of avocado-enriched diets on plasma lipoproteins: A meta-analysis.. J Clin Lipidol, 2016.
  2. Avocado Consumption and Cardiometabolic Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.. J Acad Nutr Diet, 2024.
  3. Avocado consumption and risk factors for heart disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.. Am J Clin Nutr, 2018.
  4. Effects of replacing solid fats and added sugars with avocado in adults with elevated cardiometabolic risk: a randomized, double-blind, controlled feeding, crossover trial.. Am J Clin Nutr, 2026.
  5. Can avocado intake improve weight loss in adults with excess weight? A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.. Nutr Res, 2022.
  6. Efficacy of an avocado-based Mediterranean diet on serum lipids for secondary prevention after ischemic stroke: a randomized phase 2 controlled pilot trial.. Lipids Health Dis, 2025.
  7. Is avocado beneficial for lipid profiles? An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.. Clin Nutr ESPEN, 2025.
  8. Effect of a moderate fat diet with and without avocados on lipoprotein particle number, size and subclasses in overweight and obese adults: a randomized, controlled trial.. J Am Heart Assoc, 2015.
  9. A Moderate-Fat Diet with One Avocado per Day Increases Plasma Antioxidants and Decreases the Oxidation of Small, Dense LDL in Adults with Overweight and Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Trial.. J Nutr, 2020.
  10. Effect of Incorporating 1 Avocado Per Day Versus Habitual Diet on Visceral Adiposity: A Randomized Trial.. J Am Heart Assoc, 2022.