A handful of nuts a day can slash your risk of heart disease and cancer. This is contained in a report published in the ‘mailonline’. According to the report, rating just 20 grams of nuts every day could reduce the chances of dying early by more than a fifth.
Nuts that are listed to have this capability include walnuts, sunflower seeds and pecans that are high in antioxidants, thought to protect the body against cell damage.
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Peanuts – technically a legume – are so healthy that a review suggests even peanut butter could help us live longer, although the sugar and salt it contains may cancel out some benefits.
An analysis of 20 studies by Imperial College London found people who ate a daily ounce of nuts slashed their risk of coronary heart disease by almost a third and their cancer risk by 15 per cent.
The findings suggest they may also prevent people dying from respiratory disease and diabetes, although there is less evidence. Reacting to the development, Co-author in the study, Dr. Dagfinn Aune, from the School of Public Health at Imperial, said: ‘We found a consistent reduction in risk across many different diseases, which is a strong indication that there is a real underlying relationship between nut consumption and different health outcomes. It’s quite a substantial effect for such a small amount of food.’
Previous studies have suggested that nuts protect the heart and prevent premature death, but there had been little evidence on cancer risk or other disease.
The review highlights that walnuts may be particularly good at warding off cancer, and peanuts at reducing the risk of stroke. The handful of nuts a day can include tree nuts, defined as dry fruit containing one seed within the ovary wall which becomes hard at maturity. These include walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, pistachios and pecans.
However Brazil nuts, which are actually seeds, and peanuts, classified as legumes, were incorporated within the studies as they have similar nutritional properties.
Despite being high in fat, all these nuts are healthy because they contain poly-unsaturated fat, while also packing in fibre, magnesium and vitamin E. It is believed they protect against heart and blood vessel disease by helping the body break down cholesterol and cutting the body’s resistance to insulin.
By: Magdalene Imadojemu
The Newtelegraph News
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