Effect of a nut-enriched low-calorie diet on body weight and selected markers of inflammation in overweight and obese stable coronary artery disease patients: a randomized controlled study

• Published in: European journal of clinical nutrition Vol. 75; no. 7; pp. 1099 - 1108
• Main Authors: Ghanavati, Matin, Hosseinabadi, Susan Mohammadi, Parsa, Saeed Alipour, Safi, Morteza, Emamat, Hadi, Nasrollahzadeh, Javad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 01.07.2021
• Subjects: Biomarkers; Body weight; Body weight loss; C-reactive protein; Cardiovascular disease; Cell adhesion; Control; Coronary artery; Coronary artery disease; Coronary vessels; Cytokines; Diet; Diet therapy; Disease control; Health aspects; Heart diseases; Hypocaloric diet; Immunity; Inflammation; Intercellular adhesion molecule 1; Interleukin 10; Interleukin 6; Low-calorie diet; Methods; Monocyte chemoattractant protein; Monocyte chemoattractant protein 1; Monocytes; Nutrient deficiency; Nuts; Obesity; Overweight; Physiological aspects; Proteins; Weight control; Weight loss; Weight reduction; Iran
• ISSN: 0954-3007; 1476-5640
• DOI: 10.1038/s41430-020-00819-9

Weight loss through a low-calorie diet (LCD) could improve low-grade inflammation evident in the obese state. Few studies have evaluated the effect of the mixed nuts consumption in the context of a LCD on inflammatory biomarkers. This study compared the effects of a nut-enriched LCD (NELCD) with a nut-free LCD (NFLCD) on body weight and inflammatory markers in overweight or obese coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. In this randomized controlled parallel trial, patients with stable CAD of both genders were randomly allocated to 8-week NELCD or NFLCD. Body weight, plasma C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin 10 (IL-10), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP-1) were assessed at baseline and 8 weeks. Overall, 67 patients (aged 58.8 ± 7.4 years; BMI 30.9 ± 3.9 kg/m ) completed the study. Participants in both groups lost weight to a comparable extent. Patients in the NELCD group showed a decrease in ICAM-1 (p = 0.04) and IL-6 (p = 0.02) concentrations compared to NFLCD group. No significant difference in concentrations of MCP-1, IL-10, or CRP was observed between diet groups. Nuts are healthy energy-dense foods that if included in controlled amounts in a weight management program can still result in weight reduction and may improve some plasma concentration of inflammatory factors, such as ICAM-1 and IL-6.