Consuming walnuts daily also reduced the number of LDL particles, a predictor of cardiovascular disease risk.
"Prior studies have shown that nuts in general, and walnuts in particular, are associated with lower rates of heart disease and stroke. One of the reasons is that they lower LDL-cholesterol levels, and now we have another reason: they improve the quality of LDL particles," said study co-author Emilio Ros, MD, PhD, director of the Lipid Clinic at the Endocrinology and Nutrition Service of the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona in Spain.
In a sub-study of the Walnuts and Healthy Aging study, a large, two-year randomised controlled trial examining whether walnuts contribute to healthy ageing, researchers evaluated if regular walnut consumption, regardless of a person's diet or where they live, has beneficial effects on lipoproteins. This advanced test enables physicians to more accurately identify lipoprotein features known to relate to the risk of cardiovascular disease.
3. Intermediate Density Lipoprotein cholesterol also decreased. It is known that IDL cholesterol is a precursor to LDL and refers to a density between that of low-density and very-low-density lipoproteins. In the last decade, IDL cholesterol has emerged as a relevant lipid cardiovascular risk factor independent of LDL cholesterol.
"However, as expected in an elderly population, close to 50 per cent of participants were being treated for both high blood pressure and hypercholesterolemia. Thanks in part to statin treatment in 32 per cent, the average cholesterol levels of all the people in our study were normal," Ros explained.
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