Conclusion
Almond consumption as a preload modified body fat percentages, whereas snacking on almonds between meals improved blood lipid profiles. This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT03014531.
Methods
Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a pre-meal almond group (PM), a snack almond group (SN) in which participants were instructed to consume 56 g of almonds either as a preload before meals or as a snack between meals, respectively, and a control group (CL) in which participants were provided high-carbohydrate iso-caloric control food. Measurements were performed at baseline, weeks 8 and 16.
Results
A total of 169 (M 77/F 92) out of the 227 participants completed the study between June 2014 and June 2015 (n = 58 for PM; 55 for SN; and 56 for CL). A significant decrease in body fat mass was observed in the PM group at both weeks 8 and 16 compared with the CL. There were significant intervention effects on changes of body fat mass (P = 0.025), body fat percentages (P = 0.019), and visceral fat levels (P < 0.001). Consuming almonds as a daily snack reduced the levels of total cholesterol (P = 0.043) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (P = 0.011) without changing high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol compared with the CL.