Other benefits included lower cardiometabolic risk factors
A recent study published in Current Developments in Nutrition set out to estimate the usual tree nut intake of a nationally representative sample of US adults and examine the association between tree nut consumption and cardiometabolic health outcomes.
The study sample included 18,150 adults over 20 years of age who had participated in the 2011–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Participants’ usual tree nut intake was estimated using the National Cancer Institute Method.
Approximately 8% of participants were found to be tree nut consumers (defined as those consuming at least ¼ ounce, or 7.09 grams, of tree nuts per day). Tree nut consumers were less likely than nonconsumers to have obesity (31% vs. 40%) and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (22% vs. 30%). Moreover, tree nut consumers had a lower mean waist circumference (97 vs. 101 cm) and lower levels of apolipoprotein B (88 vs. 92 mg/dL).
The researchers concluded that modest consumption of tree nuts was associated with decreased prevalence of cardiovascular disease and cardiometabolic risk factors, as well as improvement of some health outcome measures.
Lopez-Neyman, S. M., Zohoori, N., Broughton, K. S., & Miketinas, D. C. (2023). Association of Tree Nut Consumption with Cardiovascular Disease and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors and Health Outcomes in US Adults: NHANES 2011-2018. Current Developments in Nutrition, 7(10), 102007.