Markers of Cardiovascular Risk in Postmenopausal Women with Type 2 Diabetes Are Improved by the Daily Consumption of Almonds or Sunflower Kernels: A Feeding Study

Abstract

Dietary guidelines for the treatment of type 2 diabetes advocate the regular consumption of nuts and seeds. Key lipid abnormalities associated with diabetes include raised LDL-C, VLDL-C, and TAG concentrations and decreased concentrations of HDL-C. The fatty acid profiles of nuts and seeds differ and may potentially influence lipid outcomes in people with diabetes differently. To examine the effects of nut or seed consumption on lipid and lipoprotein markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD), we added almonds (AD) or sunflower kernels (SKD) to a recommended diet in a randomised crossover feeding study. Twenty-two postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes consumed personalised diets, with the addition of 30 g/d of either almonds or sunflower kernels. All food was supplied for two periods of three weeks, separated by a four-week washout. There was a significant reduction in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triacylglycerol (TAG), and apolipoprotein (apo) A1 and B100 on the SKD compared to the AD. Total (TC) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) decreased significantly on both diets from baseline, with no difference between diets. A diet with the addition of either almonds or sunflower kernels has clinically beneficial effects on lipid- and lipoprotein-mediated CVD risk.

A Comprehensive Review of Almond Clinical Trials on Weight Measures, Metabolic Health Biomarkers and Outcomes, and the Gut Microbiota

“…Eleven clinical trials evaluating the effects of incorporating almonds (30-100 g/day) into healthy recommended diets for 3-12 weeks on body mass or composition found that almond-enriched diets generally supported improved body mass and composition compared to control diets [50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61].…”

“…Richman et al [61], in a crossover RCT, randomized 22 postmenopausal women with T2 diabetes (mean age 62 years, mean BMI 29) into a recommended dietary pattern for T2 diabetes with 30 g/day of almonds or sunflower seeds for 3 weeks. Compared to baseline, both almonds and sunflower seeds significantly reduced body mass and BMI (p < 0.01), with no significant difference between them (p > 0.540).…”

Nuts and Dried Fruits: An Update of Their Beneficial Effects on Type 2 Diabetes

“…The results obtained are controversial. Although most studies found no improvement in glucose/insulin metabolism [ 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 ], others reported a significant reduction in FBG levels [ 89 , 92 , 104 , 105 ], fasting insulin or insulin resistance [ 90 , 92 , 106 , 107 ] and HbA 1c [ 92 ]. However, a meta-analysis of RCTs including 25 trials with a total of 1,650 particpants who were otherwise healthy or had dyslipidaemia, metabolic syndrome or type 2 diabetes mellitus showed that the consumption of tree nuts led to modest decreases in fasting blood glucose compared with control diet interventions [ 108 ].…”

التأثیرات العلاجیة المحتملة لبذور الشیا وعباد الشمس على الفئران التی یتم تغذیتها على غذاء عالی فی الدهون

“…On the other hand, SFS groups also showed a significant improvement in serum lipids profile of treated rats. The cholesterol lowering effect of SFS were also evaluated by ( Richmond et al ., 2013) who elicited that addition of SFS to the diet provided clinically beneficial effects on lipidand lipoprotein-mediated cardiovascular diseases (CVD) risk. This improvement might be due to its high content of vitamin E which has a positive impact on health especially reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases as supported by results of (Burton, 1994 andSozen et al, 2019).…”