Background: Recently, we reported that longer-term mixed nut intake significantly reduced serum total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, but these markers may not fully capture lipoprotein-related cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.
Objectives: This randomized, controlled, single-blinded, crossover trial in older adults with overweight or obesity examined the effects of longer-term mixed nut consumption on lipoprotein particle size, number, and lipid distribution.
Methods: Twenty-eight participants (aged 65 ± 3 years; BMI 27.9 ± 2.3 kg/m2) completed two 16-week periods (control [no nuts] vs. mixed nuts (60 g/day: 15 g of walnuts, pistachios, cashews, and hazelnuts), separated by an 8-week washout. Plasma lipoprotein particle numbers, sizes, and lipid distributions across subclasses were analyzed using high-throughput nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.
Results: Mixed nut consumption significantly reduced Apolipoprotein B (ApoB) concentrations (-0.07 g/L; p = 0.009), total cholesterol (-0.27 mmol/L; p = 0.047), non-HDL cholesterol (-0.28 mmol/L; p = 0.022), and total triacylglycerol (TAG) (-0.27 mmol/L; p = 0.008). Total very large-density lipoprotein (VLDL) particle numbers decreased by 24 nmol/L (p < 0.001), with reductions observed across all VLDL subclasses. Total LDL particle numbers (p = 0.044), specifically intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL) (p = 0.002) and large LDL particles (p = 0.015), were also reduced, while HDL particle numbers and sizes were unaffected. The mixed nut intervention significantly reduced cholesterol concentrations across all VLDL subclasses and IDL (all p < 0.01), with no changes in LDL or HDL subclasses. TAG concentrations showed reductions across all lipoprotein subclasses (all p < 0.05).
Conclusions: Longer-term mixed nut consumption may lower CVD risk in older adults and favorable shifts in apoB-containing lipoprotein subclasses towards a less atherogenic profile.
Keywords: apolipoproteins; cardiovascular disease; cholesterol; lipids; lipoprotein particles; mixed nuts; nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry; triacylglycerol.