‘Almonds in diet keep heart in good health’

New Delhi: A new review by a panel of experts in the field of nutrition and cardiovascular disease (CVD), published in the journal Nutrients, suggests that daily inclusion of almonds as part of a healthy diet — may help in to reduce dyslipidemia, one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease among Indians.

 Dyslipidemia is a condition marked by high LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride levels and low HDL cholesterol levels. The review was funded by the Almond Board of California.

According to the lead author of study, Dr. Soumik Kalita, daily consumption of 45 grams of almonds can help reduce dyslipidemia, one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease in the Indian population.

"Typically, dietary strategies to reduce harmful LDL-cholesterol, such as decreasing saturated fat, also reduce beneficial HDL cholesterol, but that is not the case with almonds.

A recent systematic review that examined the breadth of studies on almonds and blood lipid levels showed that eating almonds results in significant reductions in total cholesterol and harmful LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride levels, while having no impact on beneficial HDL-cholesterol levels," said Dr Kalita.

Experts claimed that numerous studies worldwide have shown that almonds have the potential to help improve blood cholesterol levels.

The health benefits of almonds are thought to be due to their fat profile (predominantly mono- and poly-unsaturated fats i.e. good fats), antioxidant vitamin E, dietary fiber, and other important nutrients.

"To put it into perspective, cholesterol is not all bad. HDL, infact, has protective properties and reduces the risk of heart disease.

A large multicenter study done in India estimated that nearly 72 per cent of Indians have low HDL-C levels," Dr Kalita added.

Dr Kalita explained that many clinical studies, including those in the review and several among Indian populations specifically, have shown the role of almonds in lowering LDL-cholesterol levels.  "Studies have also looked at the effect of almonds on beneficial HDL cholesterol, with results showing that consumption of almonds can help maintain or even increase levels." said Dr. Kalita.