Will your doctor inform you of this and add it to your diet stroke protocol?
Frequent Nut Consumption Associated with Less Inflammation
In a study of more than 5,000 people, investigators from Brigham and
Women’s Hospital have found that greater intake of nuts was associated
with lower levels of biomarkers of inflammation, a finding that may help
explain the health benefits of nuts. The results of the study appear
July 27 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
“Population studies have consistently supported a protective role of
nuts against cardiometabolic disorders such as cardiovascular disease
and type 2 diabetes, and we know that inflammation is a key process in
the development of these diseases,” said corresponding author Ying Bao,
MD, ScD, an epidemiologist in BWH’s Channing Division of Network
Medicine. “Our new work suggests that nuts may exert their beneficial
effects in part by reducing systemic inflammation.”
Previously Bao and her colleagues observed an association between
increased nut consumption and reduced risk of major chronic diseases and
even death, but few prospective cohort studies had examined the link
between nut intake and inflammation. In the current study, the research
team performed a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Nurses’
Health Study, which includes more than 120,000 female registered nurses,
and from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, which includes more
than 50,000 male health professionals. The team assessed diet using
questionnaires and looked at the levels of certain telltale proteins
known as biomarkers in blood samples collected from the study
participants. They measured three well-established biomarkers of
inflammation: C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin 6 (IL6) and tumor
necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFR2).
After adjusting for age, medical history, lifestyle and other
variables, they found that participants who had consumed five or more
servings of nuts per week had lower levels of CRP and IL6 than those who
never or almost never ate nuts. In addition, people who substituted
three servings per week of nuts in place of red meat, processed meat,
eggs or refined grains had significantly lower levels of CRP and IL6.
Peanuts and tree nuts contain a number of healthful components
including magnesium, fiber, L-arginine, antioxidants and unsaturated
fatty acids such as α-linolenic acid. Researchers have not yet
determined which of these components, or if the combination of all of
them, may offer protection against inflammation, but Bao and her
colleagues are interested in exploring this further through clinical
trials that would regulate and monitor diet.
“Much remains unknown about how our diet influences inflammation and,
in turn, our risk of disease,” said Bao. “But our study supports an
overall healthful role for nuts in the diet and suggests reducing
inflammation as a potential mechanism that may help explain the benefits
of nuts on cardiometabolic diseases.”
This study was supported by the grants UM1 CA186107, UM1 CA167552,
R01 CA49449, U54CA155626, and P30DK046200 from the National Institutes
of Health and by a grant from the International Tree Nut Council
Nutrition Research & Education Foundation. This work was also
conducted with the support of a KL2/Catalyst Medical Research
Investigator Training award (an appointed KL2 award) from Harvard
Catalyst | The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center
(National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for
Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health Award
KL2 TR001100).
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