Scientific Study

OBJECTIVE: To compare the lipid-altering effect of roasted salted almonds and roasted almond butter with that of raw almonds; as part of a plant-based diet. METHODS: Thirty-eight free-living; hypercholesterolemic men (n = 12) and women (n = 26) with a mean total serum cholesterol (TC) of 245 + 29 mg/dL (mean + SD) followed a heart-healthy diet including 100g of one of three forms of almonds: roasted salted almonds; roasted almond butter or raw almonds for four weeks. Measurements of serum TC; triglycerides (TG); selected lipoproteins and blood pressure were taken at baseline and after four weeks. RESULTS: All three forms of almonds in the context of a heart-healthy diet significantly lowered low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL) from baseline to the completion of the study. Both raw and roasted almonds significantly lowered TC; whereas the decrease by almond butter (in a smaller cohort) did not reach statistical significance. High-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL) did not significantly change with raw or roasted almonds but slightly increased with almond butter. At the end of the study; blood pressure did not change significantly from baseline values for any of the groups. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that unblanched almonds-whether raw; dry roasted; or in roasted butter form-can play an effective role in cholesterol-lowering; plant-based diets.