Scientists Just Discovered a Heart-Healthy Benefit of Pecans
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Key Points
* A new study suggests that replacing your typical snacks with pecans may lower cholesterol.
* Lower LDL cholesterol is linked with a reduced risk of heart disease and metabolic syndrome.
* Replacing nutrient-poor snacks, like chips or cookies, with pecans may result in the best benefits.
While we were once encouraged to avoid nuts, thankfully, science eventually caught up to our taste buds—which means you can rest assured that convenient combos like chocolate and nuts or almond butter and toast are healthy choices. We now know that nuts provide a ton of nutrition, including heart- and brain-healthy fats, plant protein, carbohydrates, fiber and antioxidants. Each little nut is a package chock-full of potential health benefits, from lowering heart disease and dementia risk to helping maintain a healthy weight.
Though walnuts are probably the most studied nut—so we know more about them—pecans are climbing the ranks as more research is done on them. Case in point: We rated pecans as the No. 1 nut to eat for better blood sugar.
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University were curious to learn more
about pecans, and they published their findings in 2025 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.1 Let’s break down what they found.
How Was This Study Conducted?
Specifically, researchers wanted to know how replacing snacks with 57 grams (about ¼ cup) of pecans a day affects certain markers for cardiometabolic diseases in individuals at risk for them. Cardiometabolic diseases include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, to name a few.
After screening 191 individuals, 138 of them were chosen for the study; about 60% were female, with an average age of 46. All participants were free from heart disease and type 2 diabetes, but had at least one risk factor for metabolic syndrome:
- High blood sugar levels
- Low HDL (“good”) cholesterol
- High triglycerides
- High blood pressure
- Larger waist circumference
Participants were split into two groups: an intervention group, who replaced the snacks they usually ate with pecans (a total of ¼ cup per day), and a control group, who continued with their usual diet while avoiding nuts and nut butters. Participants had certain tests done at baseline and again after the 12-week study period, with strict instructions for what to avoid before the testing. The tests included:
- Flow-mediated dilation (FMD), which is a test to see how well blood vessels dilate or relax in response to increased blood flow
- Blood pressure
- Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV), a measure that assesses the stiffness of arteries
- Lipids/lipoproteins (cholesterol, triglycerides)
- Glycemic control
In addition, participants also completed three 24-hour recall food
diaries throughout the study period—at baseline and weeks 6 and 12. The
Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2020 is a rating tool used to assess diet
quality based on the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.2
Higher scores (up to 100) reflect healthier eating patterns. The scores
of individual participants were calculated to find an average score for
each group. At baseline, both groups’ average HEI-2020 score was about
the same, at approximately 56.
What Did This Study Show?
Though the FMD was the primary test researchers were looking at, there was no difference at the end of 12 weeks between the groups’ FMD scores. Researchers note that this may have been because all of the participants’ FMDs were within normal ranges at baseline, so there wasn’t a need for improvement. They also add that the amount of pecans eaten provided an amount of flavonols (a type of antioxidant) lower than what has been shown in previous studies to improve FMD.
At the end of 12 weeks, there were also no medically significant differences between groups regarding HDL (“good”) cholesterol, insulin, HbA1C (average blood glucose level over three months), C-reactive protein (CRP, a measure of inflammation) or waist circumference.
What did change was cholesterol and triglyceride levels—and the change was significant. The pecan group saw a reduction in:
- total cholesterol levels of over 8 points (mg/dL)
- LDL cholesterol of over 7 points (mg/dL)
- non-HDL cholesterol (all types of LDL cholesterol plus triglycerides) by 9.5 points (mg/dL)
- triglycerides by over 16 points (mg/dL)
In addition, at the end of the 12 weeks, the pecan group’s HEI-2020 score increased by 9.4 points. They also showed an increase in healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and fiber compared to the usual-diet group.
By the end of the study, the pecan group’s weight had also increased by about 1.5 pounds. While researchers are unsure why this occurred, it’s important to remember that weight can fluctuate by 5 pounds even from morning to night—and this is normal.
Some limitations of this study include that the dietary information was
self-reported, which can have faults if participants don’t accurately
remember what they ate. The study authors also state that, due to the
number of secondary factors that were examined, statistical errors could
have occurred. Finally, it’s important to note that this study was
funded by the American Pecan Council, though the authors state that the
APC played no role in how the study was conducted or interpreted.
How Does This Apply to Real Life?
This study suggests that by replacing a “typical” snack with a small handful of pecans each day, you might experience a reduction in harmful cholesterol and triglycerides, and an increase in the quality of your diet. Depending on what your typical snack is, however, you might be able to add the nuts to it. For example, adding nuts to yogurt or a piece of fruit is a great way to balance the nutrition in the snack and make it more satisfying. And if you enjoy a piece of dark chocolate in the afternoon, pecans can perfectly complement dark chocolate’s heart-healthy characteristics.
While pecans lowered harmful cholesterol in this study, researchers didn’t see a difference in the beneficial HDL cholesterol—the type of cholesterol you want to see increase. Had the study been longer, participants may have seen a difference in their HDL, but since it wasn’t, we can’t say for sure.
What if you can’t eat pecans due to allergies or some other medical condition, or you simply don’t like them? Thankfully, there are other foods that help raise beneficial cholesterol and lower the bad stuff, including salmon, oatmeal, apples, beans and avocado.
Exercise has also been shown to benefit cholesterol levels
by lowering LDL and increasing HDL cholesterol. Both cardio and
resistance-training exercises have been linked with improved cholesterol
levels, so choose an activity you enjoy and get moving!
The Bottom Line
This study suggests that replacing usual snacks with pecans is associated with lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. Making this change also increased participants’ healthy eating scores. This goes to show that by making small changes, like replacing your typical snacks with healthier options, you can make a big difference in your health. This may be especially true if you replace nutrient-poor snacks—like a bag of chips or some pieces of candy—with pecans from time to time.
Pick a health habit to start with—like eating, exercise, getting more sleep or managing your stressors—and begin to gradually integrate the new habit into your life a little bit at a time. Over time, you’ll notice a shift in how you feel, and you may even see better numbers at your next visit to the doctor’s office. Those better numbers could mean lower risk of disease and better quality of life.