Archive

Research Area: Body Weight/Satiety

Long-term consumption of nuts (including peanuts, peanut butter, walnuts, and other nuts) in relation to risk of frailty in older women: evidence from a cohort study.

Wang, R., M.T. Hannan, M. Wang, A.W. Schwartz, E. Lopez-Garcia, F. Grodstein, 2023. Long-term consumption of nuts (including peanuts, peanut butter, walnuts, and other nuts) in relation to risk of frailty in older women: evidence from a cohort study. J Nutr. 153(3):820-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.01.003

Background: Adherence to a healthy diet is inversely associated with frailty. However, the relationship between nuts, a key food group of Mediterranean diet, and frailty is unclear. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the association between nut consumption and frailty in an aging female population. Methods: This population-based observational study included nonfrail women (60 y old) in the NHS from 11 states of the United States. Outcome was incident frailty, defined as having 3 of the FRAIL components (fatigue, lower strength, reduced aerobic capacity, multiple chronic conditions, and significant weight loss) and assessed every 4 y from 1992 to 2016. From 1990 to 2014, FFQs were used to assess the intakes of peanuts, peanut butter, walnuts (added in 1998), and other nuts at 4-y intervals. Exposure was total nut consumption, calculated as the sum of intakes of peanuts, peanut butter, walnuts, and other nuts and categorized into <1 serving/mo, 1–3 servings/mo, 1 serving/wk, 2 4 servings/wk, and  5 servings/wk. The relations of intakes of peanuts, peanut butter, and walnuts with frailty were also investigated separately. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the associations between nut consumption and frailty after adjusting for age, smoking, BMI, EI, diet quality, and medication use. Results: Among 71,704 participants, 14,195 incident frailty cases occurred over 1,165,290 person-years. The adjusted HR (95% CI) for consuming 5 servings/wk of nuts was 0.80 (0.73, 0.87), as compared with <1 serving/mo. Higher intakes of peanuts and walnuts, but not peanut butter, were also inversely associated with frailty. Conclusions: This large prospective cohort study showed a strong and consistent inverse association between regular nut consumption and incident frailty. This suggests that nut consumption should be further tested as a convenient public health intervention for the preservation of health and well-being in older adults.

Key Area: Body Weight and Composition

Almonds vs. carbohydrate snacks in an energy-restricted diet: Weight and cardiometabolic outcomes from a randomized trial.

Carter, S., A.M. Hill, L.C. Mead, H.Y. Wong, C. Yandell, J.D. Buckley, S.Y. Tan, G.B. Rogers, F. Fraysse, A.M. Coates, 2023. Almonds vs. carbohydrate snacks in an energy-restricted diet: Weight and cardiometabolic outcomes from a randomized trial. Obesity (Silver Spring). 31(10):2467-2481. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.23860

Objective: This study evaluated weight and cardiometabolic outcomes after a 3-month energy-restricted diet (−30%) containing almonds (almond-enriched diet [AED]) or containing carbohydrate-rich snacks (nut-free control diet [NFD]) (Phase 1), followed by 6 months of weight maintenance (Phase 2). Methods: Participants (25–65 years old) with overweight or obesity (BMI 27.5–34.9 kg/m2) were randomly allocated to AED (n = 68) or NFD (n = 72). Results: Both groups lost weight during Phase 1 (p < 0.001) (mean [SE], −7.0 [0.5] kg AED vs. −7.0 [0.5] kg NFD, p = 0.858) and Phase 2 (p = 0.009) (−1.1 [0.5] kg AED vs. −1.3 [0.6] NFD, p = 0.756), with improvements in percentage lean mass after Phase 2 (4.8% [0.3%], p < 0.001). Reductions occurred in fasting glucose (−0.2 [0.07] mmol/L, p = 0.003), insulin (−8.1 [4.0] pmol/L, p = 0.036), blood pressure (−4.9 [0.8] mm Hg systolic, −5.0 [0.5] mm Hg diastolic, p < 0.001), total cholesterol (−0.3 [0.1] mmol/L), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (−0.2 [0.1] mmol/L), very low density lipoprotein (−0.1 [0.03] mmol/L), and triglycerides (−0.3 [0.06] mmol/L) (all p < 0.001), and high-density lipoprotein increased (0.1 [0.02] mmol/L, p = 0.011) by the end of Phase 2 in both groups. There were group by time interactions for lipoprotein particle concentrations: very small triglyceride-rich (−31.0 [7.7] nmol/L AED vs. −4.8 [7.9] nmol/L NFD, p = 0.007), small LDL (−109.3 [40.5] nmol/L AED vs. −20.7 [41.6] nmol/L NFD, p = 0.017), and medium LDL (−24.4 [43.4] nmol/L AED vs. −130.5 [44.4] nmol/L NFD, p = 0.045). Conclusions: An energy-restricted AED resulted in weight loss and weight loss maintenance comparable to an energy-restricted NFD, and both diets supported cardiometabolic health. The AED resulted in greater improvements in some lipoprotein subfractions, which may enhance reductions in cardiovascular risk.

Nuts, Energy Balance and Body Weight.

Baer, D.J., M. Dalton, J. Blundell, G. Finlayson, F.B. Hu, 2023. Nuts, Energy Balance and Body Weight. Nutrients. 15(5):1162. doi: 10.3390/nu15051162.

Over several decades, the health benefits of consuming nuts have been investigated, resulting in a large body of evidence that nuts can reduce the risk of chronic diseases. The consumption of nuts, being a higher-fat plant food, is restricted by some in order to minimize weight gain. In this review, we discuss several factors related to energy intake from nuts, including food matrix and its impact on digestibility, and the role of nuts in regulating appetite. We review the data from randomized controlled trials and observational studies conducted to examine the relationship between nut intake and body weight or body mass index. Consistently, the evidence from RCTs and observational cohorts indicates that higher nut consumption does not cause greater weight gain; rather, nuts may be beneficial for weight control and prevention of long-term weight gain. Multiple mechanisms likely contribute to these findings, including aspects of nut composition which affect nutrient and energy availability as well as satiety signaling.

Mixed nuts as healthy snacks: effect on tryptophan metabolism and cardiovascular risk factors.

Yang, J., R. Lee, Z. Schulz, A. Hsu, J. Pai, S. Yang, S.M. Henning, J. Huang, J.P. Jacobs, D. Heber, Z. Li., 2023. Mixed nuts as healthy snacks: effect on tryptophan metabolism and cardiovascular risk factors. Nutrients. 15, 569; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15030569.

We recently demonstrated that the consumption of mixed tree nuts (MTNs) during caloric restriction decreased cardiovascular risk factors and increased satiety. Tryptophan (Trp) metabolism has been indicated as a factor in cardiovascular disease. Here, we investigated the effect of MTNs on Trp metabolism and the link to cardiovascular risk markers. Plasma and stool were collected from 95 overweight individuals who consumed either MTNs (or pretzels) daily as part of a hypocaloric weight loss diet for 12 weeks followed by an isocaloric weight maintenance program for an additional 12 weeks. Plasma and fecal samples were evaluated for Trp metabolites by LC–MS and for gut microbiota by 16S rRNA sequencing. Trp–kynurenine metabolism was reduced only in the MTNs group during weight loss (baseline vs. week 12). Changes in Trp–serotonin (week 24) and Trp–indole (week 12) metabolism from baseline were increased in the MTNs group compared to the pretzel group. Intergroup analysis between MTN and pretzel groups does not identify significant microbial changes as indicated by alpha diversity and beta diversity. Changes in the relative abundance of genus Paludicola during intervention are statistically different between the MTNs and pretzel group with p < 0.001 (q = 0.07). Our findings suggest that consumption of MTNs affects Trp host and microbial metabolism in overweight and obese subjects.