Sponsored by
Nuts 'can help cut diabetic heart disease'
Eating nuts can help cut the risk of heart disease among women with Type 2 diabetes, research suggests.
A study of more than 6,000 women found those who ate lots of nuts or peanut butter slashed their risk of heart disease almost in half.
The research was published in the Journal of Nutrition.
The women were asked to complete a food questionnaire every two to four years between 1980 and 2002.
The number of women suffering from conditions such as heart attack or stroke, or needing revascularisation treatment for heart disease, was also recorded.
Overall, there were 452 coronary "events" such as heart attack or revascularisation, and 182 cases of stroke.
Women at the start of the study who consumed more nuts and peanut butter were leaner, more physically active and tended to smoke less, the authors said.
After adjusting for those factors that could influence the results, the experts found that women who ate at least five servings per week of nuts or peanut butter had a 44 per cent lower risk of heart disease and events such as heart attack or stroke.
A serving was defined as 28g of nuts or 16g (one tablespoon) of peanut butter.
The authors, from the Havard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, said: "These data suggest that frequent nut and peanut butter consumption is associated with a significantly lower CVD risk in women with Type 2 diabetes." Ellen Mason, cardiac nurse for the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said: "It is beneficial to include nuts in our diets as they are low in the saturated fats that raise our cholesterol.
"However, peanut products can be full of added sugar or salt so check the label first as this may cancel out their positive benefits. Also don't forget that nuts are high in overall calories.
"Eating more of one food in isolation will not make much difference to your health if you are inactive and don't have a balanced diet."
Email to a friend
Print this page- Three-inch blanket of snow heading our way today
- Alan Shearer in list of favourites for Leeds and England jobs: Latest odds
- Barnsley’s Keith Hill invokes Fawlty Towers over link with Leeds job
- McCormack feels United search can be narrowed down
- Redfearn throws down gauntlet as queue builds at Elland Road
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North west
