Eat More Nuts for Good Lipid Levels

I’ve posted several pieces on the health benefits of nuts – but often the studies were sponsored by the company selling a particular type or brand of nut.  This adds a level of potential bias, so you need to take positive results with a pinch of salt (no pun intended).  Now Loma Linda scientists have done a pooled analysis of 25 published studies that evaluated the effects of eating nuts on blood lipid levels in nearly 600 adults without elevated lipid levels.  Their results are published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

In summary, eating an average of 67 grams of nuts daily (about 2.4 ounces) for at least 3 weeks led to reductions in total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and the ratios of LDL- to HDL-cholesterol and total cholesterol to HDL-cholesterol, compared with control diets.  The improvements were greater in those subjects who ate more nuts, or had higher baseline LDL-cholesterol levels, or had a lower BMI (body mass index).

The type of nuts apparently made no difference to the results.

In 2003 the FDA approved a health claim for some nuts;  sellers were allowed to state that ‘evidence suggests (but doesn’t prove) that 43 grams of nuts daily (about 1.5 ounces) as part of a diet low in saturated fat reduces the risk of coronary heart disease’.  The degree of LDL-cholesterol lowering by added nuts in the FDA statement was 4.9%, compared with 4.2% in these pooled studies analysis.  These reductions are modest compared with those obtainable with statin medication.  This has led the authors of the report to state that, in their opinion, ‘the value of regular nut consumption for coronary heart disease prevention is unlikely due to the blood cholesterol lowering effect alone’.

Two cautionary points.  First, the study received financial support from a nut research foundation, so it is not 100% ‘pure’ of industrial interest.  Second, should you want to embark on an added-nuts diet, remember that these delightful supplements bring with them quite a high level of calories.  You have been warned.