Nutrition

Nuts in the News Again

In the Adventist Health
Study, eating nuts 5 or
more times per week
was one of the best
predictors of longevity!

Nuts are a good example of "Healthy Fats." Numerous studies have shown their cardio protective effects. A Hawaiian study looked at the affects of macadamia nuts on blood cholesterol levels¹. They compared three diets; a diet high in macadamia nuts (37% of calories from fat), a low fat American heart diet for comparison, and the average American diet (37% of calories from fat).

Macadamia nut diet. 30 volunteers ate each of the three diet in turn for 30 days and compared cholesterol results. Both the low fat American Heart diet and the high macadamia nut diet significantly reduced cholesterol levels compared to the average American diet. The high nut diet was actually the best in lowering total cholesterol.

The Physician's Health Study (21,454 male doctors studied for 17 years) recently reported that those doctors eating nuts at least twice per week had a 30% decrease in deaths from all heart disease, and a 47% decrease in sudden cardiac death compared to those who rarely or never ate nuts². These remarkable reductions in mortality occurred even after controlling for coronary risk factors and other dietary factors.

The Iowa Women's Health Study also reports that nuts lower risk of heart disease in women³. As little as two or more servings (1 oz.) of nuts per week dropped risk of death from heart disease by one-fifth. They also saw a significant association between frequent nut consumption and lower risk of death from all causes (12% reduction).

Nuts and weight gain. Many people have avoided eating nuts because they are high in fat and calories. We now know they are healthy fats and protective, but how about weight gain? Loma Linda University monitored the weight of 81 test subjects who ate an average of 320 calories from almonds every day for six months⁴. That's a lot of nuts! However, they found no significant weight gain in the test subjects. There was less than one pound variance in their weight over 6 months.

While most of us need to be careful of eating too many calories, nuts can be and should be a part of everyone's diet if thy want good heart health. Eat nuts daily and enjoy! Also avoid refined calories and snacks such as soda pop which is high in calories and has no nutritional benefit, and be active daily.

Longevity results. In the 12 year Adventist Health study including 34,192 persons, those who ate nuts 5 or more times per week had significantly lower mortality rates⁵. Frequent nut eating tied with physical activity as being the best indicators for longevity of all lifestyle factors measured. Eating nuts daily is one of the easiest and best documented ways to prevent heart disease and live a long, healthy life.

Reference

1. Annals of Internal Medicine 2000; 132:538
2. Archives of Internal Medicine 2002 Jun 24; 162:1382-7
3. Nutrition and Metabolism in Cardiovascular Disease, 2001 Dec; 11:362-71
4. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 2002 Jun; 21:275-83
5. Archives of Internal Medicine Jul 9, 2001; 161:1645-52

Making Healthy Choices articles are written by Don Hall, DrPH, CHES president of LifeLong Health with contributions from associated health professionals. Content is general health information from evidence based research. It's purpose is not to treat disease or take the place of advice by your doctor but to promote healthy lifestyles. Persons with health problems should contact their physician for specific guidance.

Copyrighted 2002 by PrevMedix LLC. All rights reserved. Do not make unauthorized copies.

Updated: 12/17/02