 [ Symptoms ] how do nuts work in a heart healthy diet [ Disease ] we know that high cholesterol is one of the major risk factors for atherosclerosis in the may 10th edition of archives of internal medicine researchers found that eating nuts improves blood lipid levels which may help stave off heart disease in a pooled analysis of 25 intervention trials eating an average of 67 grams of nuts a day 2 4 ounces reduced total cholesterol by 5 9 and ldl cholesterol by 7 4 p<0 001 for both according to joan sabaté md drph of loma linda university in california and colleagues in 2003 the fda allowed a qualified health claim that evidence suggests – but does not prove   that eating 1 5 ounces 43 grams of nuts per day as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol reduces coronary heart disease risk the government allows the claim on dietary labeling for specific nuts including almonds hazelnuts pecans pistachios walnuts peanuts and some pine nuts walnuts and almonds have been most comprehensively studied epidemiological studies have linked nut consumption with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease and many dietary intervention trials have studied the effects of nut consumption on blood lipid levels most clinical trials evaluating the impact of nuts on lipid profiles have been small scale 10 49 participants ldl c the bad cholesterol reduction has been consistently shown in these small scale studies typically in the range of 12 13 though less consistent triglyceride reduction was shown however hdl c the good cholesterol generally remained unchanged one must always remember that these studies are far too small to establish any guidelines and there certainly is not one ounce of level one outcome data regarding the effect on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality the american dietetics association evidence library concludes “consumption of 50 113 grams 12 cup to 1 cup of nuts daily with a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol decreased total cholesterol by 4 21 and ldl c by 6 29 when weight was not gained ” although the decrease in ldl cholesterol in the current analysis is modest compared with that seen with statins “the value of regular nut consumption for coronary heart disease prevention is unlikely due to the blood cholesterol lowering effect alone ” sabaté and his colleagues wrote the authors of the current study felt that “nut consumption exerts beneficial effects by improving endothelial function lowering oxidative stress and reducing lipoproteina level ” i have previously written about lipoproteina aside from the fatty acid composition of nuts other components such as arginine plant sterols and phenolic components may play a favorable role in the lowering of lipid levels for those who eat nuts as a regular part of their diet in the current study the researchers performed a pooled analysis of raw data from 25 intervention trials conducted in seven countries that included 583 men and women with normolipidemia or hypercholesterolemia none of the participants was taking lipid lowering medications sample size ranged from 10 to 49 all