Re: Almonds

Jan said:

I am aware that there are many studies which show that nuts and almonds
are very healthy. However, I remember seeing that only pistachios are
able to *raise* the HDL levels.

Hello, Jan!

Pecans can also raise HDL:

J Nutr. 2001 Sep;131(9):2275-9.

A monounsaturated fatty acid-rich pecan-enriched diet favorably alters
the serum lipid profile of healthy men and women.

Rajaram S, Burke K, Connell B, Myint T, Sabate J.

Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University,
Loma Linda, California, USA.

Frequent consumption of nuts is associated with decreased risk of
cardiovascular disease. We investigated the effect of pecans rich in
monounsaturated fat as an alternative to the Step 1 diet in modifying
serum lipids and lipoproteins in men and women with normal to moderately
high serum cholesterol. In a single-blind, randomized, controlled,
crossover feeding study, we assigned 23 subjects (mean age: 38 y; 9
women, 14 men) to follow two diets, each for 4 wk: a Step I diet
and a pecan-enriched diet (accomplished by proportionately reducing all
food items in a Step I diet by one fifth for a 20% isoenergetic
replacement with pecans). The percentage of energy from fat in the two
diets was 28.3 and 39.6%, respectively. Both diets improved the lipid
profile; however, the pecan-enriched diet decreased both serum total and
LDL cholesterol by 0.32 mmol/L (6.7 and 10.4%, respectively) and
triglyceride by 0.14 mmol/L (11.1%) beyond the Step I diet, while
increasing HDL cholesterol by 0.06 mmol/L (2.5 mg/dL). Serum
apolipoprotein B and lipoprotein(a) decreased by 11.6 and 11.1%,
respectively, and apolipoprotein A1 increased by 2.2% when subjects
consumed the pecan compared with the Step I diet. These differences were
all significant (P < 0.05). A 20% isoenergetic replacement of a Step I
diet with pecans favorably altered the serum lipid profile beyond the
Step I diet, without increasing body weight. Nuts such as pecans that
are rich in monounsaturated fat may therefore be recommended as part of
prescribed cholesterol-lowering diet of patients or habitual diet of
healthy individuals.

Publication Types:
Clinical Trial
Randomized Controlled Trial

PMID: 11533266 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Quoted message said:

I am aware that there are many studies which show that nuts and

almonds

Quoted message said:

are very healthy. However, I remember seeing that only pistachios are
able to *raise* the HDL levels. Other nuts are good for heart health

in

Quoted message said:

other respects. Are you able to provide any study that would show that
almonds increase HDL?

Well, actually, I never bothered to find out specifically about almonds.
I just applied to them "general MUFA rule" 🙂

Anyway, simple google: almonds HDL gives a lot of results, like

http://www.lifeclinic.com/healthnews/article_view.asp?story=508641

You are partly right, almonds seem to significantly lower LDL but HDL
increase is not as big....

Mirek