Almonds Improve Lipid Profiles
Substituting dietary calories with calories
from almonds has a significant beneficial effect
on lipid profiles, according to the results of
a randomized trial
"Epidemiologic studies have consistently
reported an inverse relation between the incidence
of cardiovascular disease and the frequent consumption
of nuts, even after adjustment for confounding
variables," write Joan Sabaté, from
Loma Linda University in California, and colleagues.
"Almonds are unique in that they have significant
amounts of protein and have the highest concentration
of alpha-tocopherol of all nuts."
For two weeks, 25 healthy and mildly hypercholesterolemic
adults (14 men and 11 women), mean age 41 ±
13 years, were fed a run-in diet containing 34%
of energy from fat. In a crossover design, subjects
then received three isoenergetic diets for four
weeks each. These were a (1) National Cholesterol
Education Program (NCEP) Step I diet, (2) a low-almond
diet, and (3) a high-almond diet, in which almonds
contributed 0%, 10%, and 20% of total energy,
respectively.
The percentage of energy in the diet from almonds
was inversely related to total cholesterol (P
for trend < .001), low-density lipoprotein
(LDL) cholesterol (P < .001), apolipoprotein
B (P < .001) concentrations, ratio of LDL to
high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (P
< .001) and ratio of apolipoprotein B to apolipoprotein
A (P < .001).
Compared with the Step I diet, the high-almond
diet increased HDL cholesterol (0.02 mmol/L or
1.7%; P = .08), and it reduced total cholesterol
(0.24 mmol/L or 4.4%; P = .001), LDL cholesterol
(0.26 mmol/L or 7.0%; P < .001), apolipoprotein
B (6.6 mg/dL or 6.6%; P < .001), and ratio
of LDL to HDL cholesterol (8.8%; P < 0.001).
"Isoenergetic incorporation of approximately
68 g of almonds (20% of energy) into an 8368-kJ
(2000-kcal) Step I diet markedly improved the
serum lipid profile of healthy and mildly hypercholesterolemic
adults," the authors write. "Total and
LDL-cholesterol concentrations declined with progressively
higher intakes of almonds, which suggests a dose-response
relation."
The authors point out that a 7% decrease in LDL
cholesterol produced by the high-almond diet corresponds
to a reduction in the incidence of cardiovascular
disease of approximately 11%, which has important
public health implications.
"Our investigation is in general agreement
with the new NCEP Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines
to liberalize the total amount of fat in the diet.
The fatty acid composition of the high-almond
diet matches the recommended Therapeutic Lifestyle
Changes Diet for saturated fats (< 7%), polyunsaturated
fats (< 10%), and up to 20% of total energy
as monounsaturated fats," the authors write.
"Future dietary strategies for lowering serum
cholesterol should focus on the consumption of
acceptable and tasty whole foods rather than on
the restriction of fat." m J Clin Nutr. 2003;77:1379-1384
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