A handful of nuts daily
Around thirty grams of unsalted nuts replace a snack and lower LDL and ApoB without anything else needing to change.
Order of magnitude
Thirty grams of unsalted nuts per day, in place of an existing snack rather than in addition to it.
Del Gobbo 2015: 61 trials, 2,582 participants. Per 28.4 g/day LDL −4.8 mg/dL, ApoB −3.7 mg/dL, TG −2.2 mg/dL. The product dose of 30 g is one serving. There is no pooled size for uric acid, so there is no offset row.
Effects in detail
Each row is a directed edge from our database, with range, latency, evidence grade and the condition under which it applies at all.
| Marker | Effect | Latency | Mode of action | Outcome | Evidence | Condition | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apolipoprotein B | helps. Lowers -3.70 mg/dL confidence interval of the estimate, not the range one person can expect Del Gobbo 2015 −3.7 mg/dL per serving at ApoB 90 mg/dL (19 trials). Larger in type 2 diabetes (−11.5 mg/dL). | 3–3 weeks | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade A | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| LDL cholesterol | helps. Lowers -4.80 mg/dL confidence interval of the estimate, not the range one person can expect Del Gobbo 2015 −4.8 mg/dL per 28.4 g/day at LDL 100 mg/dL. Stronger LDL effect from about 60 g/day. Trial proxy: ldl_c. | 3–3 weeks | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade A | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| Triglycerides | helps. Lowers -2.20 mg/dL confidence interval of the estimate, not the range one person can expect Del Gobbo 2015 −2.2 mg/dL per serving at TG 150 mg/dL. Small, hence grade B. | 3–3 weeks | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade A | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| HbA1c | helps. Lowers -0.07 percentage points of HbA1c confidence interval of the estimate, not the range one person can expect Twelve randomised dietary trials in 450 people with type 2 diabetes give an HbA1c reduction of 0.07 percentage points (95 % CI -0.10 to -0.03) and a fasting glucose reduction of 0.15 mmol/L, with no effect on insulin or HOMA-IR. Statistically clear and clinically trivial: 0.07 percentage points is a tenth of what soluble fibre achieves. | 3–3 weeks | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade A | applies regardless of the starting value |
What this measure costs
Counteracting effects of the same measure.
No counteracting effect is on file for this measure. That does not mean there is none, only that we found no defensible edge.
Moves without implying progress
Informational or no established effect: the marker moves or was checked, and that is not progress.
| Marker | Effect | Latency | Mode of action | Outcome | Evidence | Condition | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diastolic blood pressure | checked, nothing happens. No established effect The batch-1 tree-nut meta-analysis of 61 controlled trials in 2582 adults found no significant effect on blood pressure alongside its clear effects on LDL-C, apolipoprotein B and triglycerides. A well-powered no-effect row from a source already in the database. | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade A | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| Systolic blood pressure | checked, nothing happens. No established effect The batch-1 tree-nut meta-analysis of 61 controlled trials in 2582 adults found no significant effect on blood pressure alongside its clear effects on LDL-C, apolipoprotein B and triglycerides. A well-powered no-effect row from a source already in the database. | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade A | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| HDL cholesterol | checked, nothing happens. No established effect No significant effect of tree nuts on HDL-C, blood pressure or C-reactive protein across 61 trials. A no-effect row from a large, well-powered analysis. | not specified | chronic | no | Evidence grade A | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| high-sensitivity CRP | checked, nothing happens. No established effect confidence interval of the estimate, not the range one person can expect Twenty-five randomised trials gave a CRP difference of -0.01 mg/L (95 % CI -0.06 to +0.03), which is nothing. A deliberate no-effect row. | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade B | applies regardless of the starting value |
Food sources
What you would have to eat to reach the stated order of magnitude, and what comes along with it.
| Food | Content per 100 g | Amount per week | Added burden |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walnuts BLS H120100, walnut. Sodium below the limit of detection. Purines 19.6 mg/100 g from the USDA purine database (Japan 2020). ALA is not a substitute for EPA and DHA. | 100.0 g | 210 gequals 7.0 × |
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Sources
Full details of every study the rows above rely on.
Effects of tree nuts on blood lipids, apolipoproteins, and blood pressure: systematic review, meta-analysis, and dose-response of 61 controlled intervention trials
Del Gobbo et al. · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · 2015 · Review
Bundeslebensmittelschlüssel (BLS), Version 4.0 – Deutsche Nährstoffdatenbank
Max Rubner-Institut · 2025 · Reference data
Official German nutrient database, open data CC BY 4.0. Values per 100 g edible portion. Attribute the Max Rubner-Institut as publisher.
The effect of nut consumption on markers of inflammation and endothelial function: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
Neale et al. · BMJ Open · 2017 · Meta-analysis
Effect of tree nuts on glycemic control in diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled dietary trials
Viguiliouk et al. · PLoS One · 2014 · Meta-analysis
USDA and ODS-NIH Database for the Purine Content of Foods, Release 2.0
Heydorn KC, Wu X, Garrett TJ, et al. · 2025 · Reference data
Free purine milligrams per 100 g. Includes 2024 USDA analyses and selected literature, including Kaneko 2014 (source b). Not a German official source; Souci-Fachmann-Kraut is licensed and was not used.