When it comes to a snack food, going nuts can only help fight against some of today’s most troubling health issues – cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
A review of several studies looking at benefits of nut-rich diets was published in the July 2014 edition of the Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The review indicates that eating nuts daily can be preventative of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Nuts contain unsaturated fatty acids, fiber, vegetable protein and magnesium and potassium. High in polyphenols and other antioxidant compounds, nuts can be considered little wonder foods.
The review examined reports and 18 studies that investigated the benefits of nut consumption and found it could associate lower risks for cardiovascular- and diabetes-related disease, especially in stroke incidence in women, when the studies were adjusted for body mass and age.
The study suggested that losing weight was a large factor in overall health, but those individuals studied who had improved health appeared to eat nuts regularly and also exercised, smoked less and ate a healthy, lean diet.
The types of nuts did not seem to matter on the overall health of the study subjects, leading to the conclusion that nuts of any type are beneficial when included routinely in the diet.
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2014/05/21/ajcn.113.076109.short
