Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T18:34:07.045Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Tree nuts and the lipid profile: a review of clinical studies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 April 2007

Amy E. Griel  and
Penny M. Kris-Etherton
Amy E. Griel
Affiliation:
The Pennsylvania State University, S-126 Henderson Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Penny M. Kris-Etherton*
Affiliation:
The Pennsylvania State University, S-126 Henderson Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Penny M. Kris-Etherton. fax 814 863 6020, email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Tree nuts have a fatty acid profile that favourably affects blood lipids and lipoproteins. They are low in saturated fat and high in unsaturated fatty acids and are rich sources of other nutrients. An extensive database consistently shows total and LDL cholesterol-lowering effects of diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol and high in unsaturated fat provided by a variety of tree nuts. Collectively, a summary of studies conducted to date shows that tree nuts reduce LDL cholesterol by 3–19 % compared with Western and lower-fat diets. Nuts also contain many nutrients and bioactive compounds that appear to contribute to the favourable effects on lipids and lipoproteins – these include plant sterols, dietary fibre and antioxidants. Because of their unique nutrient profile, nuts can be part of a diet that features multiple heart-healthy foods resulting in a cholesterol lowering response that surpasses that of cholesterol-lowering diets typically used to reduce CVD risk.

Keywords

Tree nutsLipidsLipoproteinsClinical trialsHumans
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 96 , Supplement S2 , November 2006 , pp. S68 - S78
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2006

References

Abbey, M, Noakes, M, Belling, GB & Nestel, PJ (1994) Partial replacement of saturated fatty acids with almonds or walnuts lowers total plasma cholesterol and low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol. Am J Clin Nutr 59, 995–999.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Albert, CM, Gaziano, JM, Willett, WC & Manson, JE (2002) Nut consumption and decreased risk of sudden cardiac death in the Physicians' Health Study. Arch Intern Med 162, 1382–1387.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Almario, RU, Vonghavaravat, V, Wong, R & Kasim-Karakas, SE (2001) Effects of walnut consumption on plasma fatty acids and lipoproteins in combined hyperlipidemia. Am J Clin Nutr 74, 72–79.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alphan, EPM, Ackurt, F & Yilmaz, T (1997) Nutritional composition of hazelnuts and its effects on glucose and lipid metabolism. In Proceedings of the fourth International Symposium on Hazelnut, Acta Hort305–310 [Kosal, AI, Gunes, NT, editors].CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Austin, MA, King, MC, Vranizan, KM & Krauss, RM (1990) Atherogenic lipoprotein phenotype. A proposed genetic marker for coronary heart disease risk. Circulation 82, 495–506.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chisholm, A, Mann, J, Skeaff, M, Frampton, C, Sutherland, W, Duncan, A & Tiszavari, S (1998) A diet rich in walnuts favourably influences plasma fatty acid profile in moderately hyperlipidaemic subjects. Eur J Clin Nutr 52, 12–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, SD (2001) Polyunsaturated fatty acid regulation of gene transcription: a molecular mechanism to improve the metabolic syndrome. J Nutr 131, 1129–1132.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Colquhoun, D, Humphries, JA, Moores, D & Somerset, SM (1996) Effects of a madacamia nut enriched diet on serum lipids and lipoproteins compared to a low fat diet. Food Australia 48, 216–222.Google Scholar
Curb, JD, Wergowske, G, Dobbs, JC, Abbott, RD & Huang, B (2000) Serum lipid effects of a high-monounsaturated fat diet based on macadamia nuts. Arch Intern Med 160, 1154–1158.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Edwards, K, Kwaw, I, Matud, J & Kurtz, I (1999) Effect of pistachio nuts on serum lipid levels in patients with moderate hypercholesterolemia. J Am Coll Nutr 18, 229–232.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ellsworth, JL, Kushi, LH & Folsom, AR (2001) Frequent nut intake and risk of death from coronary heart disease and all causes in postmenopausal women: the Iowa Women's Health Study. Nutrition, metabolism, and cardiovascular diseases 11, 372–377.Google ScholarPubMed
Feldman, EB (2002) The scientific evidence for a beneficial health relationship between walnuts and coronary heart disease. J Nutr 132, 1062S–1101S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fraser, GE, Sabate, J, Beeson, WL & Strahan, TM (1992) A possible protective effect of nut consumption on risk of coronary heart disease. The Adventist Health Study. Arch Intern Med 152, 1416–1424.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fraser, GE & Shavlik, DJ (1997) Risk factors for all-cause and coronary heart disease mortality in the oldest-old. The Adventist Health Study. Arch Intern Med 157, 2249–2258.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fraser, GE, Sumbureru, D, Pribis, P, Neil, RL & Frankson, MA (1997) Association among health habits, risk factors, and all-cause mortality in a black California population. Epidemiology 8, 168–174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garg, ML, Blake, RJ & Wills, RB (2003) Macadamia nut consumption lowers plasma total and LDL cholesterol levels in hypercholesterolemic men. J Nutr 133, 1060–1063.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hegsted, DM, Ausman, LM, Johnson, JA & Dallal, GE (1993) Dietary fat and serum lipids: an evaluation of the experimental data. Am J Clin Nutr 57, 875–883.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hu, FB & Stampfer, MJ (1999) Nut consumption and risk of coronary heart disease: a review of epidemiologic evidence. Curr Atheroscler Rep 1, 204–209.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hu, FB, Stampfer, MJ, Manson, JE, Rimm, EB, Colditz, GA, Rosner, BA, Speizer, FE, Hennekens, CH & Willett, WC (1998) Frequent nut consumption and risk of coronary heart disease in women: prospective cohort study. BMJ 317, 1341–1345.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hyson, DA, Schneeman, BO & Davis, PA (2002) Almonds and almond oil have similar effects on plasma lipids and LDL oxidation in healthy men and women. J Nutr 132, 703–707.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Iwamoto, M, Imaizumi, K, Sato, M, Hirooka, Y, Sakai, K, Takeshita, A & Kono, M (2002) Serum lipid profiles in Japanese women and men during consumption of walnuts. Eur J Clin Nutr 56, 629–637.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jenkins, DJ, Kendall, CW, Marchie, A, Faulkner, DA, Wong, JM, de Souza, R, Emam, A, Parker, TL, Vidgen, E, Lapsley, KG, Trautwein, EA, Josse, RG, Leiter, LA & Connelly, PW (2003) Effects of a dietary portfolio of cholesterol-lowering foods vs lovastatin on serum lipids and C-reactive protein. JAMA 290, 502–510.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jenkins, DJ, Kendall, CW, Marchie, A, Faulkner, DA, Wong, JM, de Souza, R, Emam, A, Parker, TL, Vidgen, E, Trautwein, EA, Lapsley, KG, Josse, RG, Leiter, LA, Singer, W & Connelly, PW (2005) Direct comparison of a dietary portfolio of cholesterol-lowering foods with a statin in hypercholesterolemic participants. Am J Clin Nutr 81, 380–387.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jenkins, DJ, Kendall, CW, Marchie, A, Parker, TL, Connelly, PW, Qian, W, Haight, JS, Faulkner, D, Vidgen, E, Lapsley, KG & Spiller, GA (2002) Dose response of almonds on coronary heart disease risk factors: blood lipids, oxidized low-density lipoproteins, lipoprotein(a), homocysteine, and pulmonary nitric oxide: a randomized, controlled, crossover trial. Circulation 106, 1327–1332.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jiang, R, Manson, JE, Stampfer, MJ, Liu, S, Willett, WC & Hu, FB (2002) Nut and peanut butter consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes in women. JAMA 288, 2554–2560.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kocyigit, A, Koylu, AA & Keles, H (2006) Effects of pistachio nuts consumption on plasma lipid profile and oxidative status in healthy volunteers. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 16, 202–209.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kris-Etherton, PM, Yu-Poth, S, Sabate, J, Ratcliffe, HE, Zhao, G & Etherton, TD (1999) Nuts and their bioactive constituents: effects on serum lipids and other factors that affect disease risk. Am J Clin Nutr 70, 504S–511S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kris-Etherton, PM, Zhao, G, Binkoski, AE, Coval, SM & Etherton, TD (2001) The effects of nuts on coronary heart disease risk. Nutr Rev 59, 103–111.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lovejoy, JC, Most, MM, Lefevre, M, Greenway, FL & Rood, JC (2002) Effect of diets enriched in almonds on insulin action and serum lipids in adults with normal glucose tolerance or type 2 diabetes. Am J Clin Nutr 76, 1000–1006.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mensink, RP & Katan, MB (1992) Effect of dietary fatty acids on serum lipids and lipoproteins. A meta-analysis of 27 trials. Arterioscler Thromb 12, 911–919.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morgan, JM, Horton, K, Reese, D, Carey, C, Walker, K & Capuzzi, DM (2002) Effects of walnut consumption as part of a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet on serum cardiovascular risk factors. Int J Vitam Nutr Res 72, 341–347.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morgan, WA & Clayshulte, BJ (2000) Pecans lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in people with normal lipid levels. J Am Diet Assoc 100, 312–318.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mukuddem-Petersen, J, Oosthuizen, W & Jerling, JC (2005) A systematic review of the effects of nuts on blood lipid profiles in humans. J Nutr 135, 2082–2089.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rajaram, S, Burke, K, Connell, B, Myint, T & Sabate, J (2001) A monounsaturated fatty acid-rich pecan-enriched diet favorably alters the serum lipid profile of healthy men and women. J Nutr 131, 2275–2279.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ros, E, Nunez, I, Perez-Heras, A, Serra, M, Gilabert, R, Casals, E & Deulofeu, R (2004) A walnut diet improves endothelial function in hypercholesterolemic subjects: a randomized crossover trial. Circulation 109, 1609–1614.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sabate, J, Fraser, GE, Burke, K, Knutsen, SF, Bennett, H & Lindsted, KD (1993) Effects of walnuts on serum lipid levels and blood pressure in normal men. N Engl J Med 328, 603–607.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sabate, J, Haddad, E, Tanzman, JS, Jambazian, P & Rajaram, S (2003) Serum lipid response to the graduated enrichment of a Step I diet with almonds: a randomized feeding trial. Am J Clin Nutr 77, 1379–1384.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spiller, GA, Jenkins, DA, Bosello, O, Gates, JE, Cragen, LN & Bruce, B (1998) Nuts and plasma lipids: an almond-based diet lowers LDL-C while preserving HDL-C. J Am Coll Nutr 17, 285–290.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spiller, GA, Miller, A, Olivera, K, Reynolds, J, Miller, B, Morse, SJ, Dewell, A & Farquhar, JW (2003) Effects of plant-based diets high in raw or roasted almonds, or roasted almond butter on serum lipoproteins in humans. J Am Coll Nutr 22, 195–200.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), United States Department of Health and Human Services (2005). Dietary Guidelines for Americans..Google Scholar
Wien, MA, Sabate, JM, Ikle, DN, Cole, SE, Kandeel, FR (2003) Almonds vs complex carbohydrates in a weight reduction program. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 27, 1365–1372.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zambon, D, Sabate, J, Munoz, S, Campero, B, Casals, E, Merlos, M, Laguna, JC & Ros, E (2000) Substituting walnuts for monounsaturated fat improves the serum lipid profile of hypercholesterolemic men and women. A randomized crossover trial. Ann Intern Med 132, 538–546.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhao, G, Etherton, TD, Martin, KR, West, SG, Gillies, PJ & Kris-Etherton, PM (2004) Dietary alpha-linolenic acid reduces inflammatory and lipid cardiovascular risk factors in hypercholesterolemic men and women. J Nutr 134, 2991–2997.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhao, G, Etherton, TD, Martin, KR, Vanden, Heuvel JP, Gillies, PJ, West, SG & Kris-Etherton, PM (2005) Anti-inflammatory effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids in THP-1 cells. Biochem Biophys Res Comm 336, 909–917.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed