Do avocados lower cholesterol?
A little, if they replace butter or cheese. Added to your usual food, one a day only nudged cholesterol down in a 6-month trial of 1,008 people. What it replaces matters more.
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Do avocados lower cholesterol?
A little, and mostly when they take the place of butter, cheese or fatty meat. The BHF says swapping saturated fat for unsaturated fat, like avocado, can help lower cholesterol.
Most of the fat in avocado is the monounsaturated kind, a type of unsaturated fat. The NHS says this fat helps keep good cholesterol (HDL) while cutting bad cholesterol (LDL).
| How it was eaten | What happened to cholesterol |
|---|---|
| In place of other fats (10 trials) | Total and bad cholesterol fell. The authors say swap it in, don’t just add it. |
| One a day in a set low-saturated-fat diet (45 overweight adults, 5 weeks) | Bad cholesterol fell more than on the same diet made with matched oils. |
| One a day on top of usual food (1,008 adults with a large waist, 6 months) | Small falls in total and bad cholesterol. Little else changed. |
| People who already had high cholesterol (9 trials) | Total and bad cholesterol may fall. |
| People with normal cholesterol (same 9 trials) | No clear change. |
Sources: Peou 2016; Wang 2015; HAT trial; James-Martin 2024
So the effect is small, and the review of 9 trials graded its certainty low to very low. It’s still a fair swap to make.
Butter on your toast most days? Try mashed avocado in its place first.
Are avocados high in fat?
Yes, for a fruit. Half a medium avocado has 13 g of fat and 140 calories. But only 3 g of that fat is saturated.
Saturated fat is the kind that can raise bad cholesterol. Most of the rest in avocado is the kind that helps.
Source: BHF
The government says men should eat no more than 30 g of saturated fat a day, and women no more than 20 g. Half an avocado uses 3 g of that.
Watching your weight? The BHF says to keep an eye on your portion size. In trials, avocado did not harm body weight.
Stick to about half a medium avocado at a time. It counts as one of your 5 a day.
What should avocado replace?
Think of your plate as a table with a few seats. Avocado helps when it takes the seat butter was sitting in.
Squeeze it in as an extra guest and the butter is still there. That’s why what it replaces matters more than the avocado itself. The authors of the 10-trial review say the same.
Five avocado swaps to try this week
- Spread mashed avocado on toast instead of butter.
- Use sliced avocado in a sandwich in place of cheese.
- Have avocado and poached egg on toast instead of bacon and sausages.
- Top chilli or fish tacos with avocado instead of cream or cheese.
- Cook with olive, rapeseed or avocado oil instead of butter, ghee or lard.
Already use olive oil and nuts? Swapping those for avocado showed no extra heart benefit in a large study. They’re all healthy fats.
For more swaps, see foods to avoid with high cholesterol and eggs and cholesterol.
Are avocados good for your heart?
Maybe. A Harvard study followed 103,926 US health workers for 30 years. People who ate avocados regularly had a 21% lower risk of coronary heart disease. It found no link with stroke.
That kind of study can only show a link. The BHF says it can’t prove avocados cut risk, and certainly not for any one person. The avocado eaters also ate a better diet overall.
A BHF dietitian says your whole diet matters more than any one food. The NHS adds 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week, stopping smoking and no more than 14 units of alcohol a week.
See how to lower cholesterol for the full plan.
When to speak to a GP
High cholesterol does not usually cause symptoms. Only a blood test can show it. Speak to your GP if:
- You’re over 40, overweight or high cholesterol or heart problems run in your family, and you’ve never had a test.
- You’re an adult and your total cholesterol is above 7.5 mmol/L, or you or a parent, brother, sister or child had heart disease before 60. NICE says to think about an inherited cause (FH).
- Your cholesterol is high. A doctor or nurse will talk to you about lowering it, which might mean changing your diet or taking medicine.
Already take a statin or other cholesterol medicine? Never stop or change a prescribed medicine without your prescriber.
To read your numbers, see cholesterol results explained.