Almonds

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Hi All,

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Almonds do you good.

Note the sponsors for the research at the end of the message.

The pdf is available.

J Am Diet Assoc. 2005 Mar;105(3):449-54.

Almonds in the diet simultaneously improve plasma alpha-tocopherol

concentrations

and reduce plasma lipids.

Jambazian PR, Haddad E, Rajaram S, Tanzman J, Sabate J.

The objective of this study was to assess the dose-response effect of

almond intake

on plasma and red blood cell tocopherol concentrations in healthy

adults enrolled in

a randomized, crossover feeding trial. Participants were 16 healthy

men and women,

aged 41+/-13 years. After a 2-week run-in period, participants were

fed three diets

for 4 weeks each: a control diet, a low-almond diet, and a high-

almond diet, in

which almonds contributed 0%, 10%, and 20% of total energy,

respectively. Changes in

blood tocopherol levels were assayed by high pressure liquid

chromatography.

Incorporating almonds into the diet helped meet the revised

Recommended Dietary

Allowance of 15 mg/day alpha-tocopherol and increased lipid-adjusted

plasma and red

blood cell alpha-tocopherol concentrations. A significant dose-

response effect was

observed between percent energy in the diet from almonds and plasma

ratio of

alpha-tocopherol to total cholesterol.

PMID: 15746835 [PubMed - in process]

Table 1. Plasma and red blood cell tocopherol and serum lipid

levels of subjects

following 4 weeks of eating a diet with 0% of energy from almonds,

10% of energy

from almonds, and 20% of energy from almonds (N=16)^a

----------------------------------------------------------------------

----------

Control Low almond High almond P^c

--------------------------------------------------------

Plasma tocopherol (microM)^b Chi^2±standard error

--------------------------------------------------------

Alpha-tocopherol 26.27±1.07 29.88±1.07u 31.19±1.09u <.01

Gamma-tocopherol 3.06±0.17 1.04±0.18u 1.89±0.18u <.001

ß-tocopherol 0.50±0.04 0.49±0.04u 0.43±0.04uy <.001

Red blood cell tocopherol (microM)b

Alpha-tocopherol 3.54±0.24 4.23±0.23w 4.55±0.23u <.001

Gamma-tocopherol 0.51±0.05 0.52±0.05 0.36±0.00ux <.001

ß-tocopherol 0.08±0.01 0.10±0.01 0.07±0.01 .39

Serum lipids

Total cholesterol (mmol/L)d 5.50±0.26 5.49±0.26 5.25±0.26vy <.01

Low-density lipoprotein (mmol/L)d 3.81±0.30 3.79±0.30 3.54±0.30uy

<.001

High-density lipoprotein (mmol/L)d 1.21±0.06 1.21±0.06 1.23±0.06 .18

Triglycerides (mmol/L)e 1.30±0.22 1.42±0.22 1.29±0.22 .91

Tocopherol:cholesterol (mmol/L:mol/L)

Alpha-tocopherol/total cholesterol 48.21±1.94 54.20±1.95u

56.39±1.98u

Gamma-tocopherol/total cholesterol 5.72±0.34 4.60±0.35u 3.55±0.35ux

ß-tocopherol/total cholesterol 0.91±0.07 0.84±0.07v 0.78±0.07uz

----------------------------------------------------------------------

-----

a^Superscripts indicate significant difference from control diet

(u=P<.001, v=P<.01,

w=P<.05) and significant difference from low-almond diet (x=P<.001,

y=P<.01,

z=P<.05).

b^To convert microM alpha-, ß-, and gamma-tocopherol to mg/dL,

multiply microM by

0.0431, 0.0417, and 0.0417, respectively.

c^Analysis of covariance test for trend, using percent of energy from

almonds as the

covariate.

d^To convert mmol/L cholesterol to mg/dL, multiply mmol/L by 38.7. To

convert mg/dL

cholesterol to mmol/L, multiply mg/dL by 0.026. Cholesterol of 5.00

mmol/L=193

mg/dL.

e^To convert mmol/L triglycerides to mg/dL, multiply mmol/L by 88.6.

To convert

mg/dL triglycerides to mmol/L, multiply mg/dL by 0.0113.

Triglycerides of 1.80

mmol/L=159 mg/dL.

... Conclusions

• The recommended dietary allowance for vitamin E has been increased

to 15 mg/day

a-tocopherol for both men and women. The typical US diet is low in a-

tocopherol. One

ounce of almonds (165 kcal) can be isocalorically substituted for

white bread,

crackers, chips, and similar refined products to provide 7.4 mg a-

tocopherol.

• Other than almonds, foods that provide >4 mg a-tocopherol in a

typical serving are

sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, wheat germ, wheat germ oil, sunflower

oil, cottonseed

oil, and safflower oil (6). Other important sources are green

vegetables, tomato

sauce, avocado, mango, and papaya. Dietetics professionals and

nutrition educators

can encourage the public to consume foods as opposed to dietary

supplements that in

addition to a-tocopherol contain important nutrients and bioactive

substances (40).

• Incorporating almonds into a diet may not be feasible for some

persons due to

personal preference, allergies, or economic factors. A limiting

factor of our study

is that only one food could be tested at a time to determine its

ability to increase

plasma vitamin E concentrations. The results suggest that consuming

foods that are

good sources of vitamin E may help to meet current recommendations.

Public health

messages can stress culturally acceptable foods that are good sources

of vitamin E.

Dietetics professionals can develop eating plans for groups or

persons utilizing

these foods.

Acknowledgements

This study was partially supported by a research grant from the

Almond Board of

California, Modesto, CA.

Al Pater