When Nut Consumption Goes Up, Cholesterol Level Goes Down, Heart Health Improves

May 10, 2010 – A new study reported today in the Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, further confirms previous research findings that eating nuts improves blood cholesterol levels, which reduces the risk of coronary heart disease. A large Penn State study in 2001 (reported below) reached the same conclusion, as have many other studies in recent years.

Participants in the 25 trials providing data for this analysis consumed an average of 67 grams (about 2.4 ounces) of nuts per day.

This was associated with an average
    ► 5.1 percent reduction in total cholesterol concentration,
    ► 7.4 percent reduction in low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad" cholesterol) and
    ► 8.3 percent change in ratio of LDL cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or "good" cholesterol).

In addition, triglyceride levels declined by 10.2 percent among individuals with high triglyceride levels (at least 150 milligrams per deciliter), although not among those with lower levels.

	Related Archive Stories
	Omega 3 from Fish, Nuts, Olive Oil Associated With Reduced Risk of Age-Related Blindness Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is the leading cause of severe vision loss among those older than 65 in the developed world. May 11, 2009 Older Women with Hypertension May Reduce Blood Pressure, Cholesterol with Soy Nuts Reduced bad cholesterol 11%, systolic, diastolic blood pressure 9.9%, 6.8% May 29, 2007 New Link Found Between Walnuts and a Healthy Heart by Ag Research Senior citizens looking at walnuts to reduce bad cholesterol have new reason to consider July 31, 2006 Read more on Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements

"Dietary interventions to lower blood cholesterol concentrations and to modify blood lipoprotein levels are the cornerstone of prevention and treatment plans for coronary heart disease," the authors note as background information in their report.

"Recently, consumption of nuts has been the focus of intense research because of their potential to reduce coronary heart disease risk and to lower blood lipid (fat and cholesterol) levels based on their unique nutritional attributes."

Nuts are a nutrient-dense food rich in plant protein (10%-25%) and fat (50%-75%), mostly unsaturated fatty acids. They are a rich source of additional nutrients, dietary fiber, minerals (eg, copper, magnesium, and potassium), vitamins (eg, folic acid, niacin, vitamin E, and vitamin B6), and other bioactive constituents such as phenolic antioxidants and phytosterols.

Joan Sabaté, M.D., Dr.P.H., of Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, Calif., and colleagues pooled primary data from 25 nut consumption trials conducted in seven countries and involving 583 women and men with high cholesterol or normal cholesterol levels. All the studies compared a control group to a group assigned to consume nuts; participants were not taking lipid-lowering medications.

"The effects of nut consumption were dose related, and different types of nuts had similar effects on blood lipid levels," the authors write.

"The effects of nut consumption were significantly modified by LDL-C, body mass index and diet type: the lipid-lowering effects of nut consumption were greatest among subjects with high baseline LDL-C and with low body mass index and among those consuming Western diets."

The results support the inclusion of nuts in therapeutic dietary interventions for improving blood cholesterol levels, they conclude.

"Nuts are a whole food that have been consumed by humans throughout history. Increasing the consumption of nuts as part of an otherwise prudent diet can be expected to favorably affect blood lipid levels (at least in the short term) and have the potential to lower coronary heart disease risk."

This research was partially funded by a grant from the McLean Research Fund of the Department of Nutrition, Loma Linda University, and by the International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research and Education Foundation.

Comprehensive Study in 2001 Concluded Nuts Cut Coronary Heart Disease Risk

A comprehensive review of the available epidemiological and clinical evidence led Penn State researchers to release a report in 2001 that concluded eating tree nuts or peanuts has a strong protective effect against coronary heart disease. Dr. Penny Kris-Etherton, distinguished professor of nutrition and lead author of the review, said, "To date, five large epidemiologic studies and 11 clinical studies have demonstrated that frequent consumption of nuts decreases the risk of coronary heart disease."

The most improvement came with adding very small amounts of nuts – an ounce, or about three to four tablespoons, five or more times a week.

Kris-Etherton said, "You have to replace some of the calories you usually consume with nuts and substitute the unsaturated fat in nuts for some of the saturated fat in your diet."

The study was published in the May 8, 2001 issue of the journal, Nutrition Reviews.

The researcher's review of the existing published epidemiologic studies shows that consuming 1 ounce of nuts more than 5 times/week can result in a 25 to 39 percent reduction in coronary heart disease risk among people whose characteristics match those of the general adult U.S. population.

Among the nuts consumed by the people who took part in the epidemiologic studies were almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macademia nuts, pecans, pistachios, and walnuts, as well as peanuts. However, the effects of specific nuts on coronary heart disease risk were not evaluated in these studies due to difficulties in classifying consumption patterns of specific nuts and because of the small number of cases in each category. In typical American diets, peanuts account for approximately half of all nuts consumed.

Nuts studied in clinical investigations included walnuts, almonds, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachio nuts and peanuts.

The 11 clinical studies reviewed by the Penn State researchers focused on the blood cholesterol-lowering effects of nuts. Collectively, these studies showed that including nuts in a blood cholesterol-lowering diet has favorable effects. However, the researchers write, "Whether the inclusion of nuts evokes a greater cholesterol-lowering response than would be expected from a typical lipid-lowering diet remains to be resolved."

Nuts are a rich source of unsaturated fatty acids, the "good" fats, and are low in saturated fatty acids, the "bad" fats. However, the researchers concluded that the fatty acid profile of nuts contributes to only part of the total reduction in coronary heart disease risk.

Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby boomers

Click to More Senior News on the Front Page

Published by New Tech Media - www.NewTechMedia.com

Other New Tech Media sites include CaroleSutherland.com, BethJanicek.com, SASeniors.com, DrugDanger.com, etc.