Posted
Thursday, July 02, 2009
This study of 13 studies, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds that walnuts, given for 4 to 24 weeks on a daily basis do both lower cholesterol and ‘LDL’ cholesterol, which is the one you don’t want too much of. Often slated by dieticians due to their high calorie and fat content all nuts are good sources of phytosterols which lower cholesterol. They also contain vitamin E (alpha tocopherol) and other tocopherols. Almonds are a particularly good source of calcium and magnesium. They also contain something called squalene which is cancer preventive, great for your skin, immune boosting and helps lower cholesterol. The richest source of squalene is shark liver oil.
Published in a recent issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers Deirdre Banel and Frank Hu conducted the meta-analysis to, “estimate the effect of walnuts on blood lipids”.
The 13 studies selected represented some 365 participants, with diets lasting between four and 24 weeks and walnuts providing between 10 and 24 per cent of total calories.
According to the researchers from Harvard Medical School “When compared with control diets, diets supplemented with walnuts resulted in a significantly greater decrease in total cholesterol and in LDL-cholesterol concentrations,” They also found other health benefits for eating nuts.“Other results reported in the trials indicated that walnuts provided significant benefits for certain antioxidant capacity and inflammatory markers and had no adverse effects on body weight.”
I recommend eating a small handful of raw nuts or seeds every day. After all, if a tree is going to grow from it it’s got to be a concentrated source of nutrients, including protein. Whenver you eat fruit be sure to have a few nuts or seeds – the carbohydrate/protein combination helps stabilise your blood sugar and hence makes you feel fuller for longer.
I always cut up almonds and brazils with pumpkin seeds in equal measures in a food processor whenever I prepare a bulk store in a plastic airtight container. I measure two level dessert spoons with every breakfast. Should I substitute walnuts for brazils as the latter are a tropical crop ? There does not appear to be much nutritional information about brazils and they are very oily.
Posted by P DUNN on 07/03 at 11:19 AM
I would. Brazils, apart from being very oily and having less omega 3, are extolled for their selenium content but the last analysis I saw showed that this was a myth. Almonds and pumpkin seeds are great in many respects.
Posted by patrick on 07/09 at 12:22 PM
I have got into the habit of having a small handful of nuts and or seeds each day. The more I read, the more I realise nuts are good for you. I try not to get too concerned about the percentage of fat in my diet, if what “tips me over” are the good fats. I found a significant improvement in my cholesterol level once I started to include nuts and seeds in my diet on a regular basis.
Posted by Marian Rigney on 07/10 at 09:56 PM
