Nuts help to fight obesity and protect the heart
Daily consumption of nuts can prevent weight gain and is helpful for the cardiovascular system, according to two new studies presented at the Scientific sessions of the American heart Association (American Heart Association Scientific Sessions) in 2018 in Chicago.
The first study, conducted by Harvard school of public health (Harvard School of Public Health) in Boston, studied the effect of eating nuts on body weight in the long term. The participants were American health workers, who had no chronic diseases at the beginning of the research.
Consumption of nuts was assessed using a questionnaire on frequency of consumption of various food products, japanesegay every four years, participants of three different studies (25 of 394 men-doctors, 53 541 women-nurses and 47 255 women-nurses).
The researchers made the following conclusions:
- A daily serving of any nuts (about 30 g of whole nuts or two tablespoons of peanut butter) is associated with a reduced risk of weight gain or obesity during the four-year intervals.
- Replacement of one serving of foods with low nutritional value (red meat/processed meat/French fries/desserts/potato chips) on any kind of nuts is associated with less weight gain over the four-year intervals.
People often imagine nuts as foods high in fat and calories, so they are hesitant to consider them a healthy snack, but in fact they are associated with a decrease in weight gain and improvement of health, explained the first author of the study Syaoran Liu (Liu Xiaoran), doctor of philosophy.
In adulthood people annually gain weight about 0.5 kg. it would Seem that quite a bit, but 20 years later the person becomes heavier, at least 10 kg supplemented with 30 g of nuts instead of less healthy food will help prevent gradual weight gain, to reduce the risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease.
The second study was conducted by researchers from the University of San Diego (San Diego State University) in 2017. It involved 22 healthy adults (20 women and 2 men) aged 20 years and older with an average BMI of 22.3. They consumed either 36 grams of pretzels or 20 g of Brazil nuts (about 5 pieces) in addition to their normal diet. Brazil nuts and pretzels had about the same caloric and salt content.
The results of the study showed:
- And Brazil nuts, and pretzels significantly increased satiety and reduced hunger; in the group who consumed Brazil nuts, the feeling of fullness was long.
- The consumption of pretzels, unlike Brazil nuts, caused a significant increase in blood glucose and insulin in 40 minutes after they were eaten.
Our project allows researchers and clinicians to consider the potentially helpful role of Brazil nuts, to help people feel full and maintain healthy glucose levels, reducing the risk of obesity and diabetes, said the study’s lead author, Professor Mi-Jung Hong (Mee Young Hong).
Valeria SEMA