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Tree nut consumption linked to lower inflammatory biomarkers
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Higher intake of tree nuts is associated with lower levels of the inflammatory biomarkers C-reactive protein and interleukin 6, according to new research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) has been linked to increased risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, and interleukin 6 (IL-6) has been linked to cardio-metabolic risk.
Ying Bao
Charles S. Fuchs
“The findings suggest that a diet high in nuts may help reduce chronic inflammation, offering a potential explanation for the health benefits of nuts,” Ying Bao, MD, ScD, from the department of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, told Healio Gastroenterology. “Substituting nuts for red/processed meat, eggs, refined grains, potatoes, or potato chips may lead to a healthier inflammatory biomarker profile.”
Bao and colleagues, including Charles S. Fuchs, MD, MPH, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the gastrointestinal cancer center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, analyzed cross-sectional data on 5,013 American men and women without diabetes who were enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. They performed multivariate linear regression to evaluate associations between habitual nut consumption (determined from food frequency questionnaires) and fasting plasma CRP, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFR2), adjusting for demographic, medical, dietary and lifestyle variables.
“Substituting three servings per week of tree nuts for three servings per week of red meat, processed meat, or eggs was associated with significantly lower CRP (all P < .0001) and IL-6 (P ranges from .01 to .04),” Bao said in a press release. “Lower CRP concentrations were also observed when substituting three servings per week of tree nuts for refined grains (P = .0008).”
These associations remained significant after adjusting for BMI.
The researchers concluded their findings show an inverse correlation between nut consumption and concentrations of CRP and IL-6, consistent with results from previous observational studies. The association between nuts and reduced inflammation may explain previously identified associations between nuts and reduced cardiometabolic diseases, but confirmation in larger trials in warranted, they added. – by Adam Leitenberger
Disclosures: Bao reports he received a research grant from the International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research & Education Foundation, and another investigator reports receiving research support from the Peanut Institute.
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