Go Nuts! - And reduce your risk of heart disease - Brief Article

Better Nutrition, Sept, 2001

Adding just a cup of nuts to your diet each week can reduce your risk of heart disease, but what kind of nuts should you reach for first? A recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says to go for the walnuts.

According to a study lead by Regalio Almario, walnuts not only lower total cholesterol, but they also lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and this is good news for your heart. The study focused on five men and 13 postmenopausal women over the age of 60 who had high-serum cholesterol levels. Over a five-and-a-half month period, and after consuming just 48 grams of walnuts a day, no weight gain was reported, but LDL cholesterol levels had dropped by almost 30 percent in those who ate the nuts.

What gives walnuts this heart-helping power? Like fish oil and soybean products (omega-3 fats), walnuts are a rich source of other essential fatty acids (including omega-9, or oleic acid), or "good" fats.