Abstract
In recent years, the concept of the health benefits of synergistic dietary patterns as opposed to individual foods or food constituents has been developed. The aim of this study was to determine whether nut consumption is associated with healthier nutrition and lifestyle. The research was based on complete data obtained during two Polish National Multi-Centre Health Examination Surveys—WOBASZ (2003–2005) and WOBASZ II (2013–2014). Of the 12,946 participants who completed dietary assessments, 299 subjects reported consuming any quantity of whole nuts. A control group of 1184 non-nut consumers from both surveys was randomly selected for the study, with age, gender, study (WOBASZ, WOBASZ II), educational level, and season-related interactions taken into account. In this study, nut consumption was associated with favorable food and lifestyle choices, excluding smoking. Better dietary quality consisted of having a higher Healthy Diet Indicator score, an increased intake of polyphenols and antioxidants, lower intake of red meat, but higher of poultry and fruit, more frequent consumption of antiatherogenic food products, and less frequent consumption of processed meats. There was also greater interest in special diets, such as weight-loss diet. In addition, nut eaters were more physically active in their leisure time. While limited by 24-h recall of nut intake and possible misclassification of nut/non-nut consumer status, this research supports the synergistic health-promoting attitudes of those who were classified as nut consumers.
Highlights
Nuts are currently recommended as an important component of cardioprotective diets [1,2].In subjects at high cardiovascular risk, nut consumption is inversely associated with the prevalence of general obesity, central obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes [3,4,5].Nutrients 2019, 11, 1410; doi:10.3390/nu11061410 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrientsThe health benefits of nuts are related to their high unsaturated fat content, phytosterols, L-arginine, fiber, polyphenols, calcium, magnesium and potassium, and low sodium content [2,6]
In order to exclude the impact of variables that may have affected levels of nut consumption, participants were matched according to season, age, gender, and educational level
Following the application of the matching procedure, it was found that there were no statistical differences observed for smoking habits and health status, i.e., the prevalence of hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, central obesity, and metabolic syndrome
Summary
Nuts are currently recommended as an important component of cardioprotective diets [1,2].In subjects at high cardiovascular risk, nut consumption is inversely associated with the prevalence of general obesity, central obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes [3,4,5].Nutrients 2019, 11, 1410; doi:10.3390/nu11061410 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrientsThe health benefits of nuts are related to their high unsaturated fat content, phytosterols, L-arginine, fiber, polyphenols, calcium, magnesium and potassium, and low sodium content [2,6]. Nuts are currently recommended as an important component of cardioprotective diets [1,2]. Nuts are characterized by their high nutritional density, but due to their high energy content they should be consumed in limited quantities [7]. In addition to containing nuts, a healthy diet places emphasis on vegetables, fruit, whole grains, legumes, and a reduction in the consumption of animal products, especially red meat [7,8]. Nut consumers have better nutrient adequacy and diet quality [13,14,15], which are important in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The number of studies which have aimed to determine whether nut intake is related to better nutrition and healthier lifestyle choices is limited [9,15,16,17]
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