Serum lipid profiles in Japanese women and men during consumption of walnuts

Objective To determine the serum cholesterol, apolipoproteins and LDL oxidizability in young Japanese women and men during walnut consumption and to evaluate its active principle.Design Experimental study with a randomized design.Subjects Twenty healthy women and 20 healthy men.Interventions Subjects were randomly assigned to consume each of two mixed natural diets for 4 weeks in a cross-over design. Reference and walnut diets were designed and the walnut diet had 12.5% of the energy derived from walnuts (44-58 g/day).Results The total cholesterol and serum apolipoprotein B concentrations, and the ratio of LDL cholesterol to HDL cholesterol was significantly lowered in women and men when fed on the walnut diet, than when on the reference diet (PConclusions alpha-Linolenic acid in the walnut diet appears to be responsible for the lowering of LDL cholesterol in women.Sponsorship Kyushu University (Fukuoka, Japan) and the California Walnut Commission (California, USA).