Almonds Improve Glycemic and Lipid Profiles in Type 2's

Almonds Improve Glycemic and Lipid Profiles in Type 2's: Almond consumption is associated with ameliorations in obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and hyperglycemia. The hypothesis of this 12-week randomized crossover clinical trial was that almond consumption would improve glycemic control and decrease the risk for cardiovascular disease in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Addition of approximately 60g almonds per day for 12 weeks increased dietary intakes of fiber, magnesium, polyunsaturated fatty acid, monounsaturated fatty acid, and vitamin E. Body fat was significantly lower in patients consuming almonds. The almond diet enhanced plasma α-tocopherol level by a median 26.8%. Furthermore, almond intake decreased total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and the ratio of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol by 6.0%, 11.6%, and 9.7%, respectively. Plasma apolipoprotein (apo) B levels, apo B/apo A-1 ratio, and nonesterified fatty acid also decreased significantly by 15.6%, 17.4%, and 5.5%, respectively. Compared with subjects in the control diet, those in the almond diet had 4.1%, 0.8%, and 9.2% lower levels of fasting insulin, fasting glucose, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance index, respectively. The results suggest that incorporation of almonds into a healthy diet has beneficial effects on adiposity, glycemic control, and the lipid profile, thereby potentially decreasing the risk for cardiovascular disease in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Metabolism online 26 May 2010. doi:10.1016/j.metabol.2010.04.009