Effect of Tree Nuts Consumption on Serum Lipid Profile in Hyperlipidemic Individuals: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Many epidemiological studies have regularly connected nuts intake with decreased risk for coronary heart disease. The primary mechanism by which nuts protect against cardiovascular disease is through the improvement of lipid and apolipoprotein profile. Therefore, numerous dietary intervention studies investigated the impact of nut consumption on blood lipid levels. Many studies have shown that nut intake can enhance the lipid profile in a dose-response way among individuals with increased serum lipids. This systematic review examines the effectiveness of nuts on the lipid profile among patients with dyslipidemia from different age groups. A total of 29 interventional studies from 5 databases met the inclusion criteria. In all, 20 studies were randomized controlled clinical trials, whereas 9 were crossover-controlled clinical trials. Participants included in the studies were different in terms of age, sex and, serum lipid profile. The studies were inconsistent in the type of tree nuts, duration, dose, and the nut forms. All studies indicated changes in the lipid profile after the intervention particularly on the total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein. Interventional periods ranged from 3 weeks up to 12 months with doses ranged from 15 to 126 gm. In conclusion, this review provides an evidence of favorable effect of nuts consumption of serum lipid profile.

Effects of Hazelnut Consumption on Cardiometabolic Risk Factors and Acceptance: A Systematic Review

“…Several meta-analyses have reported significant improvements in blood lipids and apolipoprotein profiles with nut consumption [ 12 , 13 , 14 ]. The magnitude of the effect was greater among those with higher baseline concentrations and those with healthy body weight.…”

“…Randomised controlled trials have shown improvements in risk factors of chronic disease with regular nut consumption. For example, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) are consistently lowered by regular nut consumption, with reductions more pronounced in those with elevated cholesterol concentrations [ 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Findings on blood pressure and biomarkers of oxidation, inflammation, and endothelial function are mixed, with some showing positive effects, while others report no effect [ 13 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ].…”

Effect of Almond Consumption on Metabolic Risk Factors—Glucose Metabolism, Hyperinsulinemia, Selected Markers of Inflammation: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Adolescents and Young Adults

“…The total cholesterol levels were also reduced significantly in the almond group. In a recent systematic review on tree nut, Altamimi et al ( 45 ) reported that almonds lowered LDL- c and that effects were observed with the consumption of even 20 g of the nut. The beneficial effects of almonds could be attributed to the fact that our participants were asked to consume raw almonds with skin.…”

Total Nut, Tree Nut, and Peanut Consumption and Metabolic Status in Southern Italian Adults

“…Nut consumption has been generally associated with cardiovascular benefits, but results toward metabolic outcomes are not univocal in the scientific literature: in fact, despite acute feeding studies have shown favorable effects on fasting blood glucose [ 23 ], no association between nut consumption and the risk of Type 2 diabetes mellitus was observed in meta-analyses of prospective studies [ 24 ]. Moreover, nuts have been shown to affect blood lipids despite the effects being stronger among individuals with blood lipid abnormalities [ 25 ]. Up to date, the strongest evidence from epidemiological studies relates nut consumption with lower risk of hypertension [ 26 ].…”