Pecans are rich in bioactive compounds known to reduce oxidative stress and provide glucoregulatory benefits. Few studies assessing the effect of a pecan-enriched diet on such health outcomes suggest potential improvements to cardiometabolic health; however, this has not been studied in an older adult population. Thus, we aimed to examine the effect of daily pecan consumption for 4-weeks on fasting and postmeal antioxidant status, oxidative stress, and markers of glycemia in healthy aging adults. In this randomized, parallel, controlled trial, 41 healthy adults (50-75 years) either consumed 68 g of pecans/day (pecan; n = 21) or avoided all nuts (control; n = 20). At pre- (V1) and postintervention visits (V2), blood samples were obtained at fasting, and 30, 60, and 120 min following a high saturated fat meal to assess changes in malondialdehyde, which is a measure of lipid peroxidation, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), glucose, and insulin. Across the intervention, there were no differences in fasting or postprandial TAC, glucose, or insulin for pecan versus control. There was a trend for a difference in fasting lipid peroxidation from V1 to V2 by treatment (P = .06) driven by a slight reduction for pecan versus control (Δpecan: -2.0 ± 1.1 vs. Δcontrol: +0.6 ± 0.8 μM). In addition, postprandial lipid peroxidation was suppressed at V2 for pecan, and this was different from control (pecan areas under the curve (AUC): 10.6 ± 1.3 μM/h to 9.1 ± 1.2 μM/h vs. control AUC: 8.9 ± 1.3 μM/h to 9.2 ± 1.1 μM/h; P = .03). These findings suggest that a 1 month, pecan-enriched diet is protective against postmeal oxidative stress. Longer interventions or a diabetic population may be needed to observe glucoregulatory benefits. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT04385537.
Keywords: antioxidant; glycemia; insulin; malondialdehyde; oxidative stress; tree nuts.