I won’t say “nuts to you,” I’ll say “nuts to all of us.” Why? Because nuts are considered to be one of the most nutritious food.
According to the article, Go Nuts by Beth Howard in the AARP magazine, “Almonds used to get all the accolades in the nut family. Now research shows that nuts of all kinds are some of nature’s top sources of disease-fighting antioxidants, proteins, fiber, and mono-and polyunsaturated oils.”
When I read this, I felt what good news! I’m a strong believer that it’s best to get your vitamins in foods rather than pushing down vitamin pills every day. Of course, it may be necessary to take certain vitamins if a person has some difficulty with nutritious foods, or finding them too expensive.
According to the data from the University of Toronto, a couple of ounces of nuts each day helps control blood glucose in people with type 2 diabetes. I told my daughter, who has type 2 diabetes, and she decided to try this in her diet, which is so restricted. It’s too soon to find out the results of this trial. Hopefully, it works.
It was also discovered that eating any kind of nuts a day, lowered “bad” LDL cholesterol. This was accomplished by eating just a few ounces a day. Studies also showed that eating several servings of nuts a week, lowered cardiovascular risks.
The important thing to remember, is to not eat too many nuts. According to the article, Go Nuts, “Stick to a daily serving, enough to fill only the palm of your hand.”
The type of nuts that are said to lower LDL cholesterol are sunflower seeds, almonds, peanuts, macadamia nuts, and pecans. Peanuts is considered good for helping control diabetes and “bad” LDL. Pistachios may help reduce lung cancer risk and improve “good” HDL cholesterol.
If there are any doubts about nuts in your diet, and if you have diabetes or high cholesterol, it is best to talk to your doctor about this information.
Source: AARP magazine, Go Nuts by Beth Howard