Glucoregulatory and Cardiometabolic Profiles of Almond vs. Cracker Snacking for 8 Weeks in Young Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
The transition to nutritional independence makes new college students vulnerable to alterations in eating patterns, which can increase the risk of cardiometabolic disorders. The aim of the study was to examine the potential benefits of almond vs. cracker snacking in improving glucoregulatory and cardiometabolic profiles in new college students. A randomized controlled, parallel-arm, 8-week intervention of 73 college students (BMI: 18⁻41 kg/m²) with no cardiometabolic disorders was conducted. Participants were randomized into either an almond snack group (56.7 g/day; 364 kcal; n = 38) or Graham cracker control group (77.5 g/day; 338 kcal/d; n = 35). Chronic, static changes were assessed from fasting serum/plasma samples at baseline, and after 4 and 8 weeks. Acute, dynamic effects were assessed during a 2-h oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 8 weeks. Almond snacking resulted in a smaller decline in HDL cholesterol over 8 weeks (13.5% vs. 24.5%, p < 0.05), 13% lower 2-h glucose area under the curve (AUC), 34% lower insulin resistance index (IRI) and 82% higher Matsuda index (p < 0.05) during the OGTT, despite similar body mass gains over 8 weeks compared with the cracker group. In general, both almond and cracker snacking reduced fasting glucose, and LDL cholesterol. CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating a morning snack in the dietary regimen of predominantly breakfast-skipping, first-year college students had some beneficial effects on glucoregulatory and cardiometabolic health. Almond consumption has the potential to benefit postprandial glucoregulation in this cohort. These responses may be influenced by cardiometabolic risk factor status.
Nuts and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: We review recent epidemiological and clinical studies investigating the consumption of tree nuts and peanuts and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality as well as CVD risk factors. RECENT FINDINGS: A greater consumption of tree nuts and peanuts is associated with a reduced risk of CVD mortality, as well as lower CVD events. Furthermore, risk factors associated with the development of CVD such as dyslipidemia, impaired vascular function, and hypertension are improved with regular tree nut and peanut consumption through a range of mechanism associated with their nutrient-rich profiles. There is weak inconsistent evidence for an effect of nut consumption on inflammation. There is emerging evidence that consuming tree nuts reduces the incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and promotes diversity of gut microbiota, which in turn may improve CVD outcomes. Evidence for CVD prevention is strong for some varieties of tree nuts, particularly walnuts, and length of supplementation and dose are important factors for consideration with recommendations.
Prospective Association Between Nut Consumption and Physical Function in Older Men and Women.
BACKGROUND: The beneficial effect of nut consumption preventing cardio-metabolic diseases and cancer suggests that nuts might also protect from physical function impairment in older people, since aging-related functional decline shares biological pathways with these chronic diseases. The objective was to examine the association between nut consumption and impairment of physical function in older adults. METHODS: Prospective study with 3,289 individuals aged ≥60 years from the Seniors-ENRICA cohort. In 2008-2010 and 2012 nut consumption was measured with a validated diet history. Participants were followed-up until 2015 to ascertain incident impaired physical function, specifically impaired agility, mobility, grip strength, gait speed and overall physical function. Statistical analyses were performed with Cox regression and adjusted for the main confounders, including a wide set of socioeconomic, lifestyle, dietary and morbidity variables. RESULTS: Overall, 65.7% of participants consumed any type of nuts. The mean intake among nut consumers was 15.1 g/d in men and 14.6 g/d in women. Median consumption of nuts was 11.5 g/d in both sexes. Men consuming ≥11.5 g/d of nuts had lower risk of impaired agility and mobility than those who did not consume nuts; the hazard ratios (95% confidence interval; p for linear trend) were 0.59 (0.39-0.90; p=0.01) and 0.50 (0.29-0.90; p=0.02), respectively. In women, compared to non-consumers, the hazard ratio (95% confidence interval; p for linear trend) of impaired overall physical function for nut intake ≥11.5 g/d was 0.65 (0.48-0.87; p=0.004). No association was observed between nut consumption and low grip strength and slow gait speed. CONCLUSIONS: Nut consumption was associated with half the risk of impaired agility and mobility in men and with lower risk of overall physical function impairment in women. The suggested protective effect of nut consumption on physical functioning merits further examination.
Walnut diets up-regulate the decreased hippocampal neurogenesis and age-related cognitive dysfunction in D-galactose induced aged rats.
Recently, dietary intervention has been considered as a prospective strategy in delaying age-related cognitive dysfunction and brain plasticity degeneration. This study explored the effect of walnut diets (6% and 9%, 8 weeks) on cognitive behavior, hippocampal neurogenesis and the neurotrophic signaling pathway in d-galactose (d-gal) model rats. Behavioral tests showed that walnut diets significantly reversed spatial memory loss in the Morris water test, locomotor activity deficiency in an open field test, and a recognition behavior reduction in a novel object recognition task. Immunohistochemistry analysis demonstrated walnut diets significantly increased the hippocampal neurogenesis in d-gal model rats. Moreover, western blot results indicated that walnut diets reserved a d-gal induced decrease of hippocampal pCREB (Ser133) and BDNF expression, two crucial intracellular molecules involved in hippocampal neurogenesis. These findings confirmed that chronic walnut-rich diets could ameliorate cognitive dysfunction in d-gal model rats, and the up-regulation of neurogenesis, as well as the expression of pCREB and BDNF in hippocampus, may be one of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying these effects.
UNECE Workshop “Quality matters - sustainable trade of fruits, vegetables and nuts”
UNECE Workshop “Quality matters - sustainable trade of fruits, vegetables and nuts”
https://www.unece.org/index.php?id=49350
VII Brazilian Meeting of Nuts and Walnuts
On September 18, 2018 in São Paulo-SP (Federation of Industries of São Paulo) the VII Brazilian Meeting of Nuts and Walnuts will take place.
http://www.fiesp.com.br/agenda/vii-encontro-brasileiro-de-nozes-e-castanhas/
The 2018 Chilean Walnuts season closure conference
The 2018 Chilean Walnut season closure conference is taking place this year at the Monticello Conference Centre, 7th November. The conference will include an in-depth analysis of what this year was like for Chilean Walnuts both in technical and commercial aspects, and also begin to delineate potential outcomes for the year 2019. The conference is open to both members and the general public and will have an exhibition area for products and services.
http://chilenut.cl/clausura2018/
World-First Scientific Research Project Commences for Global Macadamia Industry
The global macadamia health research project will be a large scale, randomized cross-over intervention study directed by acclaimed researcher Professor Joan Sabaté from Loma Linda University Medical Centre (USA).
It is the first of its kind in the macadamia industry, and the first time that multiple origins have contributed to such a project. It is considered critical to the industry’s ability to continue to market macadamias as a premium product.
The Australian macadamia industry’s market development manager Lynne Ziehlke said there is considerable research that shows eating tree nuts regularly can protect against coronary heart disease, decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes and help with weight management, as well as more than 200 research papers on the nutritional benefits of almonds and walnuts.
“Macadamias, like other tree nuts, have a potential cardio-protective role to play in a healthy, balanced diet and are a significant source of nutrients,” said Ms. Ziehlke.
“To date, the macadamia industry has not undertaken any clinical research of this magnitude, so today’s announcement represents a significant milestone.
“As well as providing strong evidence to support the role of macadamias in a healthy diet, the research is expected to provide many new opportunities for the product and drive further new investment in research,” said Ms. Ziehlke.
The Southern African Macadamia Growers’ Association’s Barry Christie said that consumers are increasingly aware of the healthiness of nuts, which has helped to drive tree nut consumption by more than 75 per cent over the last ten years.
“We anticipate the outcomes of this research will help the global macadamia industry to capitalise even further on this trend, by guiding the development of more powerful messaging about the health benefits of macadamias to consumers, health professionals and regulators,” said Mr. Christie.
“It’s a very exciting development for our global industry, and we are delighted to be working together on a project that will benefit all macadamia producing regions.”
The study will compare the effect of a diet enriched in macadamias versus a control diet on insulin resistance and insulin secretion in individuals with insulin resistance. It will assess the effect of macadamia nut consumption on lipid profile (total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides) and other emergent risk factors of cardiovascular disease as well as on central obesity and body composition.
World-First Scientific Research Project Commences for Global Macadamia Industry
The global macadamia health research project will be a large scale, randomized cross-over intervention study directed by acclaimed researcher Professor Joan Sabaté from Loma Linda University Medical Centre (USA).
It is the first of its kind in the macadamia industry, and the first time that multiple origins have contributed to such a project. It is considered critical to the industry’s ability to continue to market macadamias as a premium product.
The Australian macadamia industry’s market development manager Lynne Ziehlke said there is considerable research that shows eating tree nuts regularly can protect against coronary heart disease, decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes and help with weight management, as well as more than 200 research papers on the nutritional benefits of almonds and walnuts.
“Macadamias, like other tree nuts, have a potential cardio-protective role to play in a healthy, balanced diet and are a significant source of nutrients,” said Ms. Ziehlke.
“To date, the macadamia industry has not undertaken any clinical research of this magnitude, so today’s announcement represents a significant milestone.
“As well as providing strong evidence to support the role of macadamias in a healthy diet, the research is expected to provide many new opportunities for the product and drive further new investment in research,” said Ms. Ziehlke.
The Southern African Macadamia Growers’ Association’s Barry Christie said that consumers are increasingly aware of the healthiness of nuts, which has helped to drive tree nut consumption by more than 75 per cent over the last ten years.
“We anticipate the outcomes of this research will help the global macadamia industry to capitalise even further on this trend, by guiding the development of more powerful messaging about the health benefits of macadamias to consumers, health professionals and regulators,” said Mr. Christie.
“It’s a very exciting development for our global industry, and we are delighted to be working together on a project that will benefit all macadamia producing regions.”
The study will compare the effect of a diet enriched in macadamias versus a control diet on insulin resistance and insulin secretion in individuals with insulin resistance. It will assess the effect of macadamia nut consumption on lipid profile (total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides) and other emergent risk factors of cardiovascular disease as well as on central obesity and body composition.