Pecans Can Lower Chances of Developing Cardiovascular Disease

Pecans Can Lower Chances of Developing Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Plenty of the food in the U.S. contains high amounts of saturated fat. Saturated fat is “bad for you” fat that can cause buildup in the arteries and lead to heart problems.

Pecans have a reputation for being a legume that is versatile, delicious, and nutritious. Raw pecans contain about 20 grams of total fat, and about 18 of those 20 grams are heart-healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. The University of Georgia was curious about the effect pecans’ high levels of unsaturated fats would have on those who have high cholesterol levels. They conducted a study involving about 44 people, all aged about 50-70 years, some of whom were instructed to eat about 2.5 servings of pecans daily for a month. They were given a meal high in saturated fat at the beginning of the study and the same meal at the end to measure the pecans’ effect on their cholesterol levels.

The university compared the group who ate pecans versus the group who didn’t, and the results show that the group who consumed their daily pecans has significantly lower cholesterol levels than those who didn’t eat pecans for the month. Those who ate pecans had reduced total cholesterol, LDL levels, and HDL levels. A lower cholesterol level means that the group who consumed pecans daily lowered their oxidative stress levels, risk of developing clogged arteries, and cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Jamie Cooper, PhD and Primary Investigator at the University of Georgia, states, “This study reinforces the importance of incorporating healthy foods, such as pecans, into the diet. Although the intervention was relatively short, the improvements in multiple markers of chronic disease risk is clinically relevant for older adults.”

In addition, the participants were weighed at the beginning and end of the study, and the results were surprising. Even though the pecan group was consuming an extra 470 calories a day, they didn’t experience an increase in body fat or overall body weight.

“The maintenance of participants’ weight and body fat is of high practical importance. What we are seeing is that in a real-life setting, eating pecans may help displace the consumption of other calories and may provide some satiating effects to support weight maintenance,” says Cooper. “Although this study is not mechanistic by design, we speculate that the fatty acid composition of pecans, as well as their antioxidant capacity, may have contributed to the blunting effects on saturated fats and other improvements observed.”