Eating more nuts and peanut butter can reduce the risk of heart disease by nearly half. Researchers from Harvard Medical School tracked more than 6000 women with type II diabetes between 1980 and 2002. Type II diabetes increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.
The researchers asked them to fill out a dietary questionnaire every two to four years and record the women's heart attack, stroke or revascularization. The statistical results show that more than 6000 women have 452 heart attacks or revascularization and 182 strokes in 22 years. Excluding factors that might affect the results, the researchers found that women who ate at least five servings of nuts or peanut butter a week had a 44% lower risk of heart attack or stroke, based on 28 grams of nuts or 16 grams of peanut butter.
These data show that regular consumption of nuts and peanut butter can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in women with type II diabetes. They also found that women who regularly eat nuts and peanut butter are slimmer and more energetic than those who do not smoke. In addition to preventing heart disease, eating more nuts has other benefits.
Eating more nuts may help reduce the risk of blindness caused by age-related macular disease, researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia said in an article published in the American archives of ophthalmology in May. In addition, researchers at the University of lovira ivekiri in Spain found in late 2008 that nuts can improve metabolic syndrome through a variety of mechanisms. It is rich in fiber and vitamin E, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, and also contains unsaturated fat, which can reduce triglycerides in the blood and increase high-density lipoprotein.
Ellen Mason of the British Heart Foundation believes that although eating more nuts and peanut butter is good for heart disease, we should pay more attention to a balanced diet. Including nuts in our diet is healthy because nuts have low saturated fat and do not increase our cholesterol. However, nuts may be added with a lot of sugar and salt, which greatly weakens its benefits. Therefore, check the ingredient list before eating. In addition, nuts are high in calories.
If you don't exercise and have an unbalanced diet, just eating one more food won't make much difference to your health. Preventing cardiovascular disease is far from as simple as eating more nuts. The Daily Mail reported that due to poor diet and lifestyle, the number of patients with type II diabetes in the UK has increased significantly in recent years, from 1.5 million five years ago to 2.25 million at present.
