Effects of different forms of hazelnuts on blood lipids and α-tocopherol concentrations in mildly hypercholesterolemic individuals.

Background/objectives: Diets high in nuts reduce cholesterol, probably due to their favorable lipid profile and other bioactive substances. However, the physical form of the nut may be important as the cell wall of intact nuts may limit the hypocholesterolemic effect of nuts by reducing lipid bioavailability. Therefore, we investigated the effects on blood lipids of incorporating three different forms of hazelnuts (ground, sliced and whole) into the usual diet.

Subjects/methods: In a randomized crossover study with three phases, 48 mildly hypercholesterolemic participants were asked to consume 30 g of ground, sliced or whole hazelnuts for 4 weeks. Body weight, plasma total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triacylglycerol (TAG), apolipoprotein (apo) A1, apo B100 and α-tocopherol were measured at baseline and at the end of each dietary phase.

Results: There were no significant differences in any outcome variable between the different forms of nuts (all P ≥ 0.159). However, compared with baseline, mean values at the end of each hazelnut intervention were significantly higher for HDL-C (P = 0.023) and α-tocopherol (P = 0.005), and significantly lower for TC (P < 0.001), LDL-C (P < 0.001), TC:HDL-C ratio (P <0 .001), apo B100 (P = 0.002) and apo B100:apo A1 ratio (P < 0.001), with no significant difference in body weight (P = 0.813).

Conclusions: The ingestion of three different forms of hazelnuts equally improved the lipoprotein profile and α-tocopherol concentrations in mildly hypercholesterolemic individuals. Hazelnuts can therefore be incorporated into the usual diet as a means of reducing cardiovascular disease risk.