Hazelnuts with a high fat meal and blood markers in people
What it found
Eating 40 g of raw hazelnuts alongside a fast food meal lowered oxidised LDL cholesterol compared to the meal alone.
It also changed how genes linked to inflammation and oxidative stress behaved in 22 healthy volunteers.
What they found
Studies in people
Oxidised LDL cholesterol
The fast food meal raised oxidised LDL levels compared to eating nothing. Adding 40 g of raw hazelnuts to that same meal brought those levels back down.
Inflammation gene activity
When comparing the fast food meal alone to the fast food meal with hazelnuts, about 17.48% of the tested inflammation related genes showed a change in activity.
Oxidative stress gene activity
Adding hazelnuts to the fast food meal changed the activity of 33.98% of the tested oxidative stress genes. The fast food meal alone changed 17.48% of these genes compared to eating nothing.
What the authors conclude
- They say that eating hazelnuts lowered certain risk factors for artery disease after a meal, including oxidised LDL and the activity of genes linked to inflammation and oxidative stress.
- They advise that longer studies involving more people are needed before firm conclusions can be drawn.
How it was done
After a meal rich in fats or carbohydrates, the body becomes more vulnerable to oxidative damage. Tiny nutrients from food may help protect against this by boosting antioxidant enzymes and reducing harmful changes to LDL cholesterol.
Twenty two healthy adults took part in a trial where each person tried different meal conditions. They ate nothing, a McDonald's meal alone, or a McDonald's meal plus 40 g of raw hazelnuts. Researchers measured oxidised LDL cholesterol and checked the activity of 103 genes tied to inflammation and oxidative stress before and after eating.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This trial only looked at what happened shortly after a single meal. It cannot show whether eating hazelnuts regularly leads to lasting health benefits over months or years.
- The study involved just 22 healthy adults. Scientists do not yet know if the same effects would happen in larger groups or in people with existing health conditions.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Italy
The paper
- Title
- Post-prandial effects of hazelnut-enriched high fat meal on LDL oxidative status, oxidative and inflammatory gene expression of healthy subjects: a randomized trial
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Di Renzo L, Merra G, Botta R, et al (2017). Post-prandial effects of hazelnut-enriched high fat meal on LDL oxidative status, oxidative and inflammatory gene expression of healthy subjects: a randomized trial. European review for medical and pharmacological sciences.PubMed 28429343
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error