CONSUMPTION OF NUTS AND THEIR CARDIOPROTECTIVE EFFECTS

• Published in: Annals of nutrition and metabolism 2020-01, Vol.76, p.6
• Main Author: Bressan, J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antioxidants; Appetite; Blood pressure; Body weight; Body weight gain; Carbohydrates; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Catechin; Coronary artery disease; Diabetes mellitus; Diet; Disease prevention; Eating behavior; Edible nuts; Energy metabolism; Epidemiology; Fatty acid composition; Fatty acids; Folic acid; Genetic markers; Hazelnuts; Health risks; Heart diseases; Inflammation; Lipids; Lipoproteins; Macadamia nuts; Magnesium; Markers; Minerals; Nutrients; Nutrition; Nuts; Oxidative stress; Peanuts; Pecan nuts; Permeability; Pistachio nuts; Polyphenols; Polyunsaturated fatty acids; Risk; Vitamins; Walnuts
• ISSN: 0250-6807; 1421-9697

Healthy eating habits remain one of the pillars of the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. For many years, diets targeting plasma lipids were the main forms of nutritional intervention. However, the consumption of some specific foods and nutrients, as well as, dietary patterns are also associated with cardioprotective effect. In recent decades, several epidemiological studies have shown that nuts consumption is associated with several health benefits, such as antioxidant, hypocholesterolemic, cardioprotective, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic benefits, among other functional properties. Also, nuts can modulate lipid profile, glycemic control, blood pressure, appetite, which are essential markers for coronary heart disease risk. Some nutrients from nuts as phytosterols, fiber, monounsaturated fatty acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids contribute to their healthy effect. Various types of nuts such as almonds, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts, and cashews are commonly consumed by human beings, although individual intake varies remarkably. Several well-controlled clinical studies and studies conducted with free-living subjects consuming self-selected diets have also demonstrated beneficial effects of nut consumption on plasma lipids and lipoproteins. For this reason, the American Heart Association has recommended nut consumption since 2000. In general, nuts are energy dense and provide 23.4 to 26.8 kJ/g of food with a high-fat content (45–75% of weight), but mostly unsaturated fat. Nuts are also rich sources of protein, unsaturated fatty acids, fiber, vitamins (vitamins E and B6, folic acid, and niacin), minerals (magnesium, potassium, and copper), phytosterols (stigmasterol, campesterol, and sitosterol), and polyphenols (catechins, resveratrol, etc.). Evidence from a growing database of clinical studies indicates that part of the cardioprotective effect of nuts is their favorable effects on plasma lipids and lipoproteins due to their fatty acid composition when they replace dietary saturated fatty acids/or carbohydrate. Hence, the incorporation of edible nuts, around 30 to 50 g/d, in the typical diet would be advisable to ensure various health benefits without the risk of body weight gain. Thus, the investigations about the effect of nuts on cardiometabolic risk, energy metabolism, inflammation, oxidative stress, genetic markers, chronobiological aspects, and intestinal permeability, a