Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Study shows that consuming 1/4 ounce of tree nuts daily significantly improved BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar control.
Tree nuts, including almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, and walnuts, contain numerous health-promoting ingredients: dietary fiber, calcium, potassium, folic acid, magnesium, selenium, and vitamin E (1). In addition, tree nuts contain antioxidants called phenols, phytosterols, flavonoids, resveratrol, and other bioactive compounds (2). These work together with vitamin E and selenium, and may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (3, 4).
But because of their high calorie content and high levels of fat (in the form of unsaturated fat), the health benefits of nuts are not universally accepted (5, 6). Now a new study (7) suggests that tree nut consumption may improve parameters related to heart disease. In the study, researchers analyzed data on tree nut consumption and health status in 14,386 subjects (7337 men, 7049 women) over the age or 19 in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2010 (8). The subjects filled out questionnaires based on 24-hour recall (9) and were classified as “non-consumers” if they consumed less than ¼ ounce (7 grams) per day and “consumers” if they consumed at least ¼ ounce/day tree nuts per day.
Although the researchers used the ¼-ounce threshold between consumption and non-consumption, the average intake of those non-consumers was 3.3 grams of tree nuts per day. The researchers found tree nut consumption to significantly improve the following heart health parameters:
| Body Mass Index (kg/m2) | Waist Circumference (centimeters) | Systolic Blood Pressure (mmHg) | HOMA (Blood Sugar control) | HDL Cholesterol (mg/dL) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-consumers | 28.7 | 98 | 122.1 | 3.3 | 52.9 |
| Consumers | 27.9 (2.8% lower) | 96.1 (2% lower) | 119.5 (2.2% lower) | 3 (9.1% lower) | 54.4 (2.8% higher) |
| p-value | 0.004 | 0.008 | 0.001 | 0.043 | 0.022 |
When suggesting how tree nut consumption produced these healthier outcomes, the researches cited previous research (10, 11) showing the satiating effect of tree nuts due to their high vegetable protein and dietary fiber as well as high levels of fatty acids. In addition, “nuts must be chewed so that the particles are small enough to be swallowed” so that “mastication may modify appetite” and contribute to weight loss.
The researchers recommended that “Health professionals, especially registered dietitians and other health educators provide diet counseling and nutrition education programs that increase awareness of the health benefits of tree nut consumption” and that “Tree nuts should be consumed as part of an overall healthful meal pattern.”
Source: O’Neil, Carol E., Victor L. Fulgoni, and Theresa A. Nicklas. “Tree Nut consumption is associated with better adiposity measures and cardiovascular and metabolic syndrome health risk factors in US Adults: NHANES 2005–2010.” Nutrition journal 14.1 (2015): 64.
© 2015 O’Neil et al. Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
Click here to read the full text study.
Posted July 13, 2015.
Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com.
References:
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. 2013. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 26. Nutrient Data Laboratory Home Page. [http://www.ars.usda.gov/ba/bhnrc/ndl]
- Maguire LS, O’Sullivan SM, Galvin K, O’Connor TP, O’Brien NM. Fatty acid profile, tocopherol, squalene and phytosterol content of walnuts, almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts and the macadamia nut. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2004;55:171–8.
- Bao Y, Han J, Hu FB, Giovannucci EL, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC, et al. Association of nut consumption with total and cause specific mortality. N Engl J Med. 2013;369:2001–11
- Stradling C, Hamid M, Fisher K, Taheri S, Thomas GN. A review of dietary influences on cardiovascular health: part 1: the role of dietary nutrients. Cardiovasc Hematol Disord Drug Targets. 2013;13:208–30.
- Ibarrola-Jurado N, Bulló M, Guasch-Ferré M, Ros E, Martínez-González MA, Corella D, et al. PREDIMED Study Investigators. Cross-sectional assessment of nut consumption and obesity, metabolic syndrome and other cardiometabolic risk factors: the PREDIMED study. PLoS One. 2013;8:e57367.
- O’Neil CE, Keast DR, Nicklas TA, Fulgoni 3rd VL. Out-of-hand nut consumption is associated with improved nutrient intake and health risk markers in US children and adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2004. Nutr Res. 2012;32:185–94
- O’Neil CE. Tree Nut consumption is associated with better adiposity measures and cardiovascular and metabolic syndrome health risk factors in U.S. Adults: NHANES 2005-2010. Nutr J. 2015 Jun 28;14(1):64. doi: 10.1186/s12937-015-0052-x
- National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Analytic Note Regarding 2007–2010 Survey Design Changes and Combining Data Across other Survey Cycles.
- Moshfegh AJ, Rhodes DG, Baer DJ, Murayi T, Clemens JC, Rumpler WV, et al. The US department of agriculture automated multiple-pass method reduces bias in the collection of energy intakes. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008;88:324–32
- Flores-Mateo G, Rojas-Rueda D, Basora J, Ros E, Salas-Salvadó J. Nut intake and adiposity: meta-analysis of clinical trials. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013;97:1346–55
- Mattes RD, Dreher ML. Nuts and healthy body weight maintenance mechanisms. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2010;19:137–41.
