The Effects of Consuming Almonds and Almond Oil on Blood Lipids: A Systematic Review

Introduction: Pharmacological approaches to hyperlipidemia are used in practice to lower lipids, but the benefits in lowering lipid levels also lead to some adverse effects. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review is to find out how almonds and almond oil affect blood lipids. Methodology: The studies in this systematic review were chosen systematically by searching Cochrane, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase from the earliest date to March 2021. Two authors independently screened titles and abstracts, followed by screening. Search strategy was conducted using the following keywords: Almond, Prunus, Prunus dulcis, amygdalus, oleum amygdalae, P. amygdalus, Prunus dulcis, Prunus amygdalus dulcis, and P. dulcis; human, person, subject, people, patient, participant, individual, volunteer, elder, senior, geriatric, women, men, adult, woman, and man; and LDL, Lipid, Lipid Profile, blood profile, HDL, Low Density Lipoprotein, TAG, Triglyceride, Triacylglycerol, High Density Lipoprotein, Cholesterol, Lipid regulation, TG Lipid Distribution, Total Cholesterol, Cholesterol, TC Lipid Distribution, cholesterol, total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL, LDL-C, lipoprotein, hyperlipidaemia, hypercholesterolaemia, and hyperlipaemia. Results: Overall, the studies demonstrate a significant outcome of almond or almond oil on lowering blood lipid levels, except in three studies. We included 40 clinical trials. In all studies, the average daily intake of almonds was between 10 and 100 g/day. For almond oil, it was 500 ml of almond oil daily. The duration of almond consumption ranged from 3 to 30 weeks. Sample sizes in all strata ranged from 12 to 128 participants. In the 17 strata, subjects were described as generally healthy and in 5 strata as overweight or obese. Conclusions: Consuming almonds or almond oil has a significant effect on lowering lipids.