Hwang, H.J., Y. Liu, H.S. Kim, H. Lee, Y. Lim, H. Park, 2019. Daily walnut intake improves metabolic syndrome status and increases circulating adiponectin levels: randomized controlled crossover trial. Nutr Res Pract. 13(2):105–114.
Background/Objectives: Several previous studies have investigated whether regular walnut consumption positively changes heart-health-related parameters. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of daily walnut intake on metabolic syndrome (MetS) status and other metabolic parameters among subjects with MetS. Materials/Methods: This study was a two-arm, randomized, controlled crossover study with 16 weeks of each intervention (45 g of walnuts or iso-caloric white bread) with a 6-week washout period between interventions. Korean adults with MetS (n = 119) were randomly assigned to one of two sequences; 84 subjects completed the trial. At each clinic visit (at 0, 16, 22, and 38 weeks), MetS components, metabolic parameters including lipid profile, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), adiponectin, leptin, and apolipoprotein B, as well as anthropometric and bioimpedance data were obtained. Results: Daily walnut consumption for 16 weeks improved MetS status, resulting in 28.6%-52.8% reversion rates for individual MetS components and 51.2% of participants with MetS at baseline reverted to a normal status after the walnut intervention. Significant improvements after walnut intake, compared to control intervention, in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (P = 0.028), fasting glucose (P = 0.013), HbA1c (P = 0.021), and adiponectin (P = 0.019) were observed after adjustment for gender, age, body mass index, and sequence using a linear mixed model. Conclusion: A dietary supplement of 45 g of walnuts for 16 weeks favorably changed MetS status by increasing the concentration of HDL-C and decreasing fasting glucose level. Furthermore, consuming walnuts on a daily basis changed HbA1c and circulating adiponectin levels among the subjects with MetS.
Hardman, W.E., D.A. Primerano, M.T. Legenza, J. Morgan, J. Fan, J. Denvir, 2019. mRNA expression data in breast cancers before and after consumption of walnut by women. Data in Brief. 25:104050. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2019.104050
This article contains supporting data for the research paper entitled: ‘Dietary walnut altered gene expressions related to tumor growth, survival, and metastasis in breast cancer patients: a pilot clinical trial’ [1] Hardman et al., 2019. Included are tables for all mapped genes and all unmapped loci identifications that were significantly changed in breast cancers by consumption of walnut for about 2 weeks. All gene networks that were identified by Ingenuity Pathway Analyses as modified are shown in table 3. Files containing the raw reads, along with a shell script describing the complete data analysis pipeline, were deposited to the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and can be obtained via accession number GSE111073.
Hardman, W.E., D.A. Primerano, M.T. Legenza, J. Morgan, J. Fan, J. Denvir, 2019. Dietary walnut altered gene expressions related to tumor growth, survival, and metastasis in breast cancer patients: a pilot clinical trial. Nutr Res. 66:82-94.
Consumption of walnuts has slowed breast cancer growth and/or reduced the risk of mammary cancer in mice. The benefit against cancer was associated with altered expression of genes for cancer growth and survival. We hypothesized that walnut consumption would alter gene expression in pathologically confirmed breast cancers of women in a direction that would be expected to decrease breast cancer growth and survival, as was seen in mice. The study was a non-placebo, two-arm, clinical trial. Women with breast lumps large enough for research and pathology biopsies were recruited and randomized to walnut consuming or control groups. Immediately after biopsy collection, women in the walnut group began to consume two ounces of walnuts per day until follow-up surgery. Pathological studies confirmed that lumps were breast cancer in all women who remained in the trial. At surgery, about two weeks after biopsy, additional specimens were taken from the breast cancers. Changes in gene expression in the surgical specimen compared to baseline were determined in each individual woman in walnut-consuming (n=5) and control (n=5) groups. RNA-Seq expression profiling revealed that expression of 456 identified genes was significantly changed in the tumor due to walnut consumption. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis showed activation of pathways that promote apoptosis and cell adhesion, and inhibition of pathways that promote cell proliferation and migration. These results support the hypothesis that, in humans, walnut consumption could suppress growth and survival of breast cancers.
Hagan, K.A., F. Grodstein, 2019. The Alternative Healthy Eating Index and physical function impairment in men. J Nutr Health Aging. 23(5):459-465.
Objectives: Physical function is increasingly recognized as integral to healthy aging, in particular as a core component of mobility and independent living in older adults. Thus, it is important to identify strategies for the prevention of physical function decline. Design: Longitudinal cohort study. Setting and Participants: A total of 12,658 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study were followed from 2008–2012. Measurements: We examined the association between the Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI), a measure of diet quality combining 11 dietary components (vegetables, fruits, nuts and legumes, red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages and fruit juices, alcohol, whole grains, omega-3 fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids, sodium), and impairment in physical function, as measured by the SF-36. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of impairment in physical function. Results: In the multivariable-adjusted model, each 10-point increase in total AHEI score was associated with a 10% lower odds of impairment in physical function (OR=0.90, 95% CI: 0.86,0.95), and in the categorical analysis, men with AHEI scores in the top quintile had a 26% lower odds (OR=0.74, 95% CI:0.63,0.86) compared with men in the bottom quintile. For individual AHEI components, higher intake of vegetables (p-trend=0.01), nuts and legumes (p-trend<0.01), polyunsaturated fatty acids (p-trend<0.01) and lower intake of red and processed meats (p-trend=0.03) and sugar-sweetened beverages (p-trend=0.01) were significantly associated with lower odds of physical impairment. For specific foods, higher consumption of lettuce, broccoli, blueberries, peanuts, walnuts and other nuts were associated with lower odds of impairment. Conclusions: In this large cohort of older men, better overall diet quality was significantly associated with a lower odds of impairment in physical function. Given the value of physical function to healthy aging and quality of life, this may represent a particularly compelling public health rationale for older men to improve their diet.
