Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28956139›Full record

Trial reportEuropean journal of nutrition2018

The effects of 'activating' almonds on consumer acceptance and gastrointestinal tolerance.

Heidi Taylor, Kirsten Webster, Andrew R Gray, Siew Ling Tey, Alex Chisholm, Karl Bailey, Shivani Kumari, Rachel C Brown

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in European journal of nutrition, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 34% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Heidi TaylorDepartment of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand.
Kirsten WebsterDepartment of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand.
Andrew R GrayDepartment of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand.
Siew Ling TeyDepartment of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand.
Alex ChisholmDepartment of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand.
Karl BaileyDepartment of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand.
Shivani KumariDepartment of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand.
Rachel C BrownDepartment of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand. rachel.brown@otago.ac.nz.
University of Otago · NZ

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeRecommendations to soak nuts prior to consumption to reduce phytate concentrations and improve gastrointestinal tolerance have received much attention in the popular press. This is despite no supporting scientific evidence for the practice. There is also a lack of information about how soaking nuts might affect consumer acceptability. This study primarily assessed the effects of soaking almonds on consumer acceptance and secondly assessed effects on gastrointestinal tolerance.

methodsIn this 8-week randomised crossover trial, 76 participants were allocated in balanced order to receive 30 g/day of four different preparations of almonds for 12 days: whole unsoaked, whole soaked, sliced unsoaked, and sliced soaked. Ratings of overall liking, desire to consume, and likelihood of future consumption, and severity of gastrointestinal symptoms were measured daily on visual analogue scales. The phytate concentrations were measured in all four nut types using high-performance liquid chromatography.

resultsMean acceptance ratings of all nut types were above the neutral point indicating they were acceptable. However, sliced soaked almonds were rated significantly lower overall for all three acceptance scales compared to the other treatments (all P ≤ 0.003). The sliced unsoaked almonds were rated lower than both whole nut treatments (all P ≤ 0.006), while there were no significant differences between the two whole nut treatments (all P ≥ 0.511). Gastrointestinal symptoms were minimal, but flatulence was rated significantly higher for all time points combined for soaked whole nuts compared to unsoaked whole nuts (P = 0.005). Compared to the whole unsoaked nuts (mean [SD] 531 [9] mg/100 g), phytate concentration was higher for the whole soaked almonds (563 [38] mg/100 g, P = 0.016), with no evidence of a difference for the sliced soaked almonds (548 [27] mg/100 g, P = 0.197) and no difference between the soaked forms (P = 0.262).

conclusionsThis research supports previous results suggesting nuts, including different forms, are an acceptable food. They are also well tolerated gastrointestinally, but soaking does not improve gastrointestinal tolerance or acceptance as claimed in the lay literature.

Indexed as

Consumer BehaviorFood HandlingAdultBody Mass IndexCross-Over StudiesDietFemaleFlatulenceFollow-Up StudiesGastrointestinal TractHumansMaleNutsPhytic AcidPrunus dulcisYoung AdultPhytic AcidActivatingAlmondsConsumer acceptanceGastrointestinal toleranceNutsPhytateSoaking

Identifiers

PMID28956139
OpenAlexW2608561428

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.