Abstract :
Raised blood cholesterol is one of the important risk factor to develop coronary artery disease (CAD) leading to main cause of morbidity and mortality due to heart attack and cardiac arrhythmias. Decreased level of plasma HDL-cholesterol, independently can cause CAD. Recent research studies have proved that walnuts can increase plasma HDL-cholesterol if taken in specific amount per day regularly. Research study was conducted at Lahore General Hospital, Lahore from January 2014 to April 2014. Forty hyperlipidemic patients were selected from Lahore General Hospital for the study. Age of patients ranged from 20 to 65 years. Both gender male and female patients were enrolled. They were advised to discontinue any hypolipidemic medications and foods. Patients suffering from any metabolic disease, renal impairment, liver disease, and already having any cardiac problems were excluded from the research study. Forty patients were divided in two groups, twenty individuals in each group. Group-1 was advised to take 30 grams of walnuts (without shell) per day for the period of eight weeks. Group-II was considered as control group and was advised not to take any dry fruit including walnuts. Their baseline values of HDL-cholesterol were measured at day-0 and day-60, by separating other lipoprotein fractions using chemical precipitation with Mg2+, then coupling the products of a cholesterol oxidase reaction. In twenty hyperlipidemic patients, two months therapy with 30 grams of walnuts per day increase in HDL-cholesterol was 6.3 mg/dl which was significant change when analyzed bio statistically, showing p-value 0.05 was considered as non-significant change.
Conclusion: It was concluded from the study that regular intake of specific amount of walnuts without shell can increase good cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol) in male and female patients of age range from 18 to 65 years.
Keyword :
CAD, HDL, LDL, VLDL, mortality, morbidity, Biostatistics