Do pecan nuts, extra-virgin olive oil offer some benefits on glycaemic profile in CAD patients?

Adding pecan nuts or an extra-virgin olive oil to a healthy diet does not seem to substantially improve glycaemic and anthropometric parameters in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD), but it helps improve the quality of diet, suggests a study.

The effect of cardioprotective foods on nontraditional indexes related to dysglycaemia and body fat distribution is unheard of in CAD patients. Thus, a group of researchers sought to probe the effect of a healthy diet supplemented with pecan nuts or extra-virgin olive oil on glycaemic profile and adipose tissue dysfunction assessed by anthropometric indexes in this population.

A randomized, pragmatic, parallel clinical trial was conducted for 12 weeks in 204 individuals, who were randomly assigned to one of three interventions: a healthy diet (control group [CG], n=67), a healthy diet plus 30 g/day of pecan nuts (pecan nut group [PNG], n=68), or a healthy diet plus 30 mL/day of extra-virgin olive oil (olive oil group [OOG], n=69).

The researchers evaluated triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, the primary outcome, and other markers of glycaemic profile, as well as nontraditional anthropometric indexes. They also assessed diet quality using the Alternate Healthy Eating Index (mAHEI).

At the end of the study, no differences were noted in both glycaemic and anthropometric profiles according to groups after adjusting for baseline values, use of antidiabetic drugs, and insulin.

PNG improved the quality of diet relative to other groups (final mAHEI scores: CG, 19; PNG, 26; OOG, 18.9; p<0.001).

“Further studies must be conducted considering dietary interventions on secondary cardiovascular prevention setting,” the researchers said.