Replacing Saturated Fats with Unsaturated Fats from Walnuts May Help Lower Bad Cholesterol

A total of 34 adults at risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) were included in this trial. Participants were men and women aged between 30-65 years old with overweight or obesity who had elevated blood pressure and/or increased LDL “bad” cholesterol. After following a standard Western diet during 2 weeks, participants were randomly assigned in blocks of 6, to receive each of the following diets in random order for 6 weeks: 1) walnut diet (57-99 g/day); 2) walnut fatty acid-matched diet but devoid of walnuts, and 3) a diet replacing alpha-linolenic acid with oleic acid and without walnuts.
 
The study concluded that, in individuals at risk of CVD, replacement of saturated fatty acids with unsaturated fats from walnuts improved lipid/lipoprotein classes, including LDL “bad” cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol, and total cholesterol, which were lower after the walnut diet.
 
This study was partly funded by the California Walnut Commission.
 
Link to the study: https://academic.oup.com/jn/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jn/nxz313/5698016
 
Tindall, A. M., Kris-Etherton, P. M., & Petersen, K. S. (2020). Replacing Saturated Fats with Unsaturated Fats from Walnuts or Vegetable Oils Lowers Atherogenic Lipoprotein Classes Without Increasing Lipoprotein(a). The Journal of nutrition, nxz313. Advance online publication. doi:10.1093/jn/nxz313