UNIVERSITAT POLITÈCNICA DE VALÈNCIA Desarrollo ... - RiuNet

252 IV.Resultados y discusión. Capítulo III
compounds on some current chronic diseases such as cardiovascular
diseases (CVD), type 2 Diabetes mellitus (DM-2), obesity and some cancers
(Fardet, 2010). Tree nuts are rich in mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids,
vegetable proteins, dietary fibre, phytosterols, polyphenols, vitamins and
minerals (Philips et al., 2005; Segura et al., 2006); and most of those
compounds have antioxidant properties and are proved to have a beneficial
effect in plasma lipid profile, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation and
inflammatory processes, among others (Liu, 2012; Myers and Allen, 2012;
Ward et al., 2012; Whent et al., 2012; Carlson et al., 2011; Egert et al.,
2011; Gillingham et al., 2011; Jones et al., 2011). Indeed, epidemiological
studies have linked frequent nut consumption to reduced risk of coronary
heart disease and DM-2 (Kelly Jr and Sabaté, 2006).
Among nuts, almonds have experienced great increase in consumption,
probably due to the consumers-acknowledged potential health benefits
mentioned above coupled with high K/Na ratio and low glycemic index
(Casas-Agustench et al., 2011, Sing-Chung et al., 2011). These healthy
properties, hence, made almonds and their derivatives to be suitable for
sensitised population such as diabetics or those who suffer from either
hypertension or hypercholesterolemia. Nevertheless, this nut has been also
classified as a potential allergenic seed known to be responsible for
triggering several immune reactions in allergic individuals (Costa et al.,
2012). On the other hand, probiotic bacteria are seen to influence human
immune system positively, so they could reduce almonds’ allergenicity.
Therefore, almond nut milks might be very useful in order to industrially
produce new non-dairy products with synbiotic features and with reduced