Intake of partially defatted Brazil nut flour reduces serum cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic patients - GreenMedInfo Summary
Intake of partially defatted Brazil nut flour reduces serum cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic patients--a randomized controlled trial.
Nutr J. 2015 ;14:59. Epub 2015 Jun 16. PMID: 26077768
Roberta F Carvalho
OBJECTIVE: Thyroid hormones can lower levels of atherogenic lipoproteins, and selenium is important in thyroid hormone homeostasis. We aimed to investigate the effects of a healthy diet associated with the Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa) in dyslipidemic and hypertensive patients.
METHODS: This study was a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial. Seventy-seven dyslipidemic and hypertensive patients already receiving lipid-lowering drugs received either a dietary treatment associated with partially defatted Brazil nut flour (13 g/day providing 227,5μg of selenium/day),or with dyed cassava flour as a placebo. All patients received a personalized dietary guideline with nutritional recommendations for dyslipidemia and hypertension and were followed for 90 days.
RESULTS: The Brazil nut group showed reductions in total cholesterol (-20.5 ± 61.2 mg/dL, P = 0.02), non HDL-cholesterol (-19.5 ± 61.2 mg/dL, P = 0.02) and Apo A-1 (-10.2 ± 26.7 mg/dL, P = 0.03) without significant alterations in the Apo B/Apo A-1 ratio. The placebo group showed a reduction in FT3 levels (-0.1 ± 0.4, P = 0.03) and increased Lp(a) levels (5.9 ± 18.0 mg/dL, P = 0.02). There were no statistical differences in blood pressure and serum lipids between Brazil nut and placebo group.
CONCLUSIONS: Supplementation with Brazil nuts seems to favor the maintenance of FT3 levels and contributes to lipemia reduction in hypercholesterolemic and euthyroid patients.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01990391.