Daily Walnuts Improve Diet Quality, Endothelial Function
Including walnuts in a regular diet, regardless of calorie intake, significantly improves diet quality, endothelial function, and total and LDL cholesterol, according to a recent study.
While walnuts are recognized as a healthy snack option, their effect on calorie intake and overall diet quality is not well defined.
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To further examine their effects, researchers conducted a 2 arm randomized, controlled, modified Latin square parallel design stud of 112 participants randomly assigned to a diet with or without dietary counseling. In each arm, participants were further randomized to either 56 g of walnuts per day or no walnuts.
Overall, participants who ate walnuts every day, with or without dietary counseling, significantly improved their diet quality (measured by the Healthy Eating Index 2010), endothelial function, and total and LDL cholesterol, compared with those not eating walnuts. Body mass index, fasting glucose, glycated hemoglobin, and blood pressure did not change in any of the groups.
“The inclusion of walnuts in an ad libitum diet for 6 months, with or without dietary counseling to adjust calorie intake, significantly improved diet quality, endothelial function, total and LDL cholesterol, but had no effects on anthropometric measures, blood glucose level, and blood pressure,“ they concluded.
—Michael Potts
Reference:
Njike VY, Ayettey R, Petraro P, et al. Walnut ingestion in adults at risk for diabetes: effects on body composition, diet quality, and cardiac risk measures BMJ Open Diab Res Care. 2015 November 23 [epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1136/bmjdrc-2015-000115.