Abstract
Background and aims
Knowledge of the effect of nut consumption on metabolic syndrome (MetS) components
is limited. We assessed the effects of nut intake on adiposity, serum lipids, insulin
resistance, and inflammatory biomarkers in patients with MetS.
Methods and results
In a randomized, parallel-group, 12-week feeding trial, 50 patients with MetS were
given recommendations for a healthy diet with or without supplementation with 30 g/day of raw nuts (15 g walnuts, 7.5 g almonds and 7.5 g hazelnuts) (Nut and Control diet groups, respectively). Adiposity measures, serum
lipids, insulin, Homeostasis Model Assessment (HOMA), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and other
inflammatory biomarkers, and 48-h fecal fat were determined basally and at study's
completion. Moderate weight loss, decreased adiposity, and lower blood pressure occurred
similarly after both diets. The Control, but not the Nut diet, was associated with
significant (P<0.05) reduction of LDL-cholesterol, with mean changes of −0.36 versus −0.13 mmol/L, respectively (between-group differences, P=0.154). The Nut diet reduced fasting insulin by 2.60 μU/mL (95% CI, −4.62 to −0.59) and HOMA-insulin resistance by 0.72 (−1.28 to −0.16)
(P<0.05 versus Control diet; both). Among inflammatory markers, the Nut diet resulted
in changes of median plasma IL-6 of −1.1 ng/L (−2.7 to −0.1; P=0.035 versus Control diet), but adjustment for weight loss attenuated the significance
of the association. Stool fat decreased with the Control diet and slightly increased
with the Nut diet (P<0.05 for between-group differences).
Conclusion
Patients with MetS show decreased lipid responsiveness but improved insulin sensitivity
after daily intake of 30 g of mixed nuts.
Keywords
Abbreviations:
MetS (metabolic syndrome), HOMA (Homeostasis Model Assessment), CVD (cardiovascular disease), ATP III (Adult Treatment Panel III), REE (resting energy expenditure), O2 (oxygen), CO2 (carbon dioxide), SFA (saturated fatty acid), CRP (C-reactive protein), IL-6 (interleukin-6), MCP-1 (monocyte chemotactic protein-1), PAI-1 (plasminogen activator inhibitor-1), IL-18 (interleukin-18), ANCOVA (analysis of covariance), MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acid), PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acid)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 23, 2009
Accepted:
August 12,
2009
Received in revised form:
June 23,
2009
Received:
April 14,
2009
Footnotes
☆Support for research: Supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (CICYT-AGL2005-03605), Spanish Ministry of Health (RTIC RD06/0045) and the International Nut Council. The nuts used in the study were donated by Borges S.A., Reus, Spain. None of the funding sources played a role in the design, collection, analysis or interpretation of the data or in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. Patricia López-Uriarte is a recipient of a predoctoral fellowship from the Generalitat de Catalunya's Ministry of Universities, Research and the Information Society and the European Social Funds.
Identification
Copyright
© 2009 Elsevier B.V. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
