Walnuts Up Diabetic Endothelial Function

DERBY, Conn.A diet rich in walnuts helps type 2 diabetes patients improve endothelium-dependent vasodilatation and may reduce their overall cardiac risk, according to a study published in the February issue of Diabetes Care.

Researchers at Yale University School of Medicine studied 24 people with type 2 diabetes who were randomized to a diet including 56g/d of walnuts or a diet without walnuts for eight weeks. This was the only dietary intervention and the two groups then swapped diets.

Flow-mediated dilatation and cardiovascular biomarkers were assessed before and after each treatment phase. Researchers found after the walnut-enriched diet phase, endothelial function was significantly better compared with function after the walnut-free diet. Fasting serum glucose increased, while serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol were lower after eight weeks of the walnut diet versus baseline. There were no changes in anthropomorphic measures and insulin sensitivity.