Effect of a 12-Week Almond-Enriched Diet on Biomarkers of Cognitive Performance, Mood, and Cardiometabolic Health in Older Overweight Adults

Abstract

Long term nut consumption is associated with reduced risk of coronary heart disease and better cognitive function. This study examined supplementing habitual diets with almonds or carbohydrate-rich snack foods (providing 15% energy) on biomarkers of cardiovascular and metabolic health, mood and cognitive performance. Participants (overweight/obese, 50-80 years) were randomised to an almond-enriched diet (AED) or isocaloric nut-free diet (NFD) for 12 weeks. Body weight, blood lipids, glucose, insulin, blood pressure (BP), arterial stiffness, cell adhesions molecules, C reactive protein (CRP), mood, and cognitive performance (working memory primary outcome), dietary profiles and energy intake/expenditure were measured at baseline and Week 12 in 128 participants (n = 63 AED, n = 65 NFD). Compared with NFD, AED was associated with altered macro and micronutrient profiles, but no differences in energy intake or expenditure. The AED significantly reduced triglycerides and SBP but there were no other changes in cardiometabolic biomarkers, mood, or cognitive performance. The inclusion of almonds in the diet improves aspects of cardiometabolic health without affecting cognitive performance or mood in overweight/obese adults.Nutrients 2020, 12, 1180 2 of 18 cognitive performance [7]. Nut consumption represents one aspect of nutrition with wide ranging benefits that may counteract these negative influences, including reducing oxidative damage and inflammation, and improving vascular responsiveness [8][9][10]. Improvements in vascular function associated with nut intake are proposed to not only improve cardiovascular health but also contribute to improving cognitive function [11]. Clinical trials have found improvements in vascular health following consumption of walnuts [12], hazelnuts [13], and almonds [14], but this has not been a consistent finding in all studies, possibly due to differences in methods of assessing vascular health, differences in populations evaluated, dose, or length of the period of consumption [9,10].Furthermore, there is now emerging literature to support nut consumption being associated with enhanced cognitive function or reduced cognitive decline [15,16]. Key nutrients found in nuts (and almonds in particular), including monounsaturated fat [17] and vitamin E [18] have been associated with reduced cognitive decline, and it has been proposed that regular nut consumption may prevent or slow the progressing of age-related brain dysfunction [16,19]. Prospective/longitudinal studies have demonstrated a positive association between nut consumption and cognitive performance [20][21][22] with a greater effect in those with the highest nut consumption [21]. In addition, prospective cohort studies reported improved cognitive performance and a reduced incidence of cognitive decline when the Mediterranean dietary pattern (with nuts as a key component) was adhered to [23,24].There have been mixed results from randomized controlled trials assessing the effects of nut intake on cognition. A 12 week weight loss in...

Diet, Obesity, and Depression: A Systematic Review

“…The most frequently used depression scale was Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI) used by 11 studies [ 25 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 35 , 39 , 40 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ], followed by the Profile of Mood States (POMS) used in six [ 28 , 31 , 39 , 41 , 44 , 46 ], and the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) [ 28 , 36 , 38 ] and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) used in three [ 29 , 47 , 48 ]. Two studies used the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) [ 34 , 49 ] A further seven scales were used by some studies, either in conjunction with the aforementioned, or on their own (see Table 1 ).…”

“…We found seven studies that reported on the effects of supplements without calorie restriction [ 46 ] or on the effects of behavioral modifications/counselling on depression scores [ 28 , 30 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 38 ]. These studies were not specifically prescribing calorie restricted diets but were rather providing additional supplements and/or counselling on healthy lifestyle modifications, such as dietary and exercise recommendations.…”

“…The authors concluded that mood disturbance was higher for the group on the HG diet, with higher depression scores associated with higher glycemic load. Coates et al investigated the effects of an almond-enriched diet compared to a nut-free diet and found no differences in depression scores between the two groups [ 46 ]. Three studies [ 35 , 36 , 38 ] investigated what effect counselling or behavioral training has on depression scores and all three found improvements in depressive symptoms following the intervention.…”

Nuts and Older Adults’ Health: A Narrative Review

“…Three interventional studies that investigated the effects of nut supplementation on the cognitive function of older adults were identified ( Table 4 ). Two more recent studies that had larger study sample sizes supplemented the intervention diets with almonds [ 81 ] or walnuts [ 82 ] as 15% of participants’ daily energy intake. Despite the larger dose and sample sizes, these studies did not identify significant differences in cognitive performance or mood after the intervention periods [ 81 , 82 ].…”

“…Two more recent studies that had larger study sample sizes supplemented the intervention diets with almonds [ 81 ] or walnuts [ 82 ] as 15% of participants’ daily energy intake. Despite the larger dose and sample sizes, these studies did not identify significant differences in cognitive performance or mood after the intervention periods [ 81 , 82 ]. On the other hand, a pilot study that supplemented the diet with one Brazil nut (~5 g) per day for 6 months reported improvements in two (verbal fluency and constructional praxis) of the six subsets of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease (CERAD) neuropsychological tests battery [ 83 ].…”