Eating nuts to reduce the risk of heart disease in diabetics



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An American study suggests that diabetics who consume nuts regularly are less likely to develop heart disease than their counterparts who rarely, if ever, consume them.

Diabetics who ate at least five servings of 28 grams (one ounce) of nuts a week were 17% less likely to develop heart disease than diabetics who consumed no more than one serving of nuts per week, according to the report. # 39; study.

Even a single serving of nuts could still be good for the heart. For people with diabetes, adding only one extra serving of nuts per week was badociated with a 3% lower risk of heart problems and a 6% risk of death from heart problems.

"These data provide new evidence that supports the recommendation to incorporate nuts into healthy eating habits to prevent cardiovascular complications and premature deaths in diabetics," said the senior author of the report. study, Gang Liu, research scientist at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

The study was not a controlled experiment designed to prove if and how nuts could protect diabetics from heart disease. But it is possible that the consumption of nuts helps to improve things such as glycemic control and inflammation, at least in part to the nutrients contained in nuts such as unsaturated fatty acids, fiber, vitamin E and folate, and minerals like calcium, potbadium, and magnesium, Liu added.

Too much nuts may not necessarily be a good thing, though.

"A handful of nuts is good for the heart, but we still do not know what the ideal serving size is," Liu said by email.

According to Liu, more than half of the people surveyed in this study do not eat nuts.

"What about more nuts, better that is, requires more studies among populations consuming a lot of nuts," Liu said. "Despite the high energy density of nuts, there is no reason to believe that there is a link between frequent nut consumption and weight gain, which can be explained saturating effect of nut consumption ".

As part of this study, researchers used self-reported diet questionnaires of 16,217 men and women before and after the diagnosis of diabetes and asked them about their consumption of peanuts and nuts over several weeks. years. All participants had type 2 diabetes, the most common form of disease badociated with aging and obesity.

During the study, 3,336 people were diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. This included 2,567 cases of heart disease and 789 cerebrovascular accidents. A total of 5,682 people died, including 1,663 deaths from cardiovascular disease and 1,297 deaths from cancer.

Walnuts were still badociated with a lower risk of heart disease even after the researchers had explained other risk factors for heart problems such as the duration of diabetes, obesity, eating habits and weight loss. 39, exercise, the use of drugs and the amount of nuts consumed before diagnosis. Diabetes.

Nuts such as nuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, pistachios, pecans, macadamias, hazelnuts, and pine nuts were more closely related to a lower risk of heart disease than peanuts, legumes that grow underground.

"One of the reasons why nuts can be more protective is that they tend to be consumed with the skin or outer skin, in which most of the antioxidants reside (at least ordinary nuts, almonds and hazelnuts" ), while peanuts are usually eaten without skin, "said Dr. Emilio Ros of the Barcelona Hospital Clinic.

"In addition, peanuts are usually roasted and salted – the added salt could neutralize the benefits of the original components of the nuts," said Ros, who did not participate in the study, by email. Ros has received grants, research funds and other funds from the California Walnut Commission and the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council.

An ounce of nuts contains about 24 almonds, 18 cashews, 12 hazelnuts and 14 walnut halves.

"An ideal dose for one and a half (28 to 42 grams) a day," Ros said. "In practice, it is best to recommend a handful (of shelled nuts) – the bigger the hand (and the size of the owner), the higher the dose."

The study was published in Traffic Research.

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