Tag Archives: walnuts

Eat Nuts to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk and Improve Type 2 Diabetic Blood Sugars

Posted on April 25, 2014 | Comments Off on Eat Nuts to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk and Improve Type 2 Diabetic Blood Sugars
Paleobetic diet

Macadamia nuts on the tree

Most of the diets I recommend to my patients include nuts because they’re so often linked to improved cardiovascular health in scientific studies. Walnuts are associated with reduced risk of type 2 diabetes in women, and established type 2 diabetics see improved blood sugar control and lower cholesterols when adding nuts to their diets.

paleobetic diet, diabetic diet, low-carb diet

Apples, pecans, and blueberries: So simple even a redneck can make it (I are a redneck)

Nut consumption lowers total and LDL cholesterol levels, and if triglycerides are elevated, nuts lower them, too. Those changes would tend to reduce heart disease.

Conner Middelmann-Whitney has a good nutty article at Psychology Today.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Reference: Joan Sabaté, MD, DrPH; Keiji Oda, MA, MPH; Emilio Ros, MD, PhD. Nut Consumption and Blood Lipid Levels: A Pooled Analysis of 25 Intervention Trials. Archives of Internal Medicine, 2010, Vol. 170 No. 9, pp 821-827. Abstract:

Background  Epidemiological studies have consistently associated nut consumption with reduced risk for coronary heart disease. Subsequently, many dietary intervention trials investigated the effects of nut consumption on blood lipid levels. The objectives of this study were to estimate the effects of nut consumption on blood lipid levels and to examine whether different factors modify the effects.

Methods:  We pooled individual primary data from 25 nut consumption trials conducted in 7 countries among 583 men and women with normolipidemia and hypercholesterolemia who were not taking lipid-lowering medications. In a pooled analysis, we used mixed linear models to assess the effects of nut consumption and the potential interactions.

Results:  With a mean daily consumption of 67 g of nuts [about 2 ounces or 2 palms-ful], the following estimated mean reductions were achieved: total cholesterol concentration (10.9 mg/dL [5.1% change]), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration (LDL-C) (10.2 mg/dL [7.4% change]), ratio of LDL-C to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration (HDL-C) (0.22 [8.3% change]), and ratio of total cholesterol concentration to HDL-C (0.24 [5.6% change]) (P < .001 for all) (to convert all cholesterol concentrations to millimoles per liter, multiply by 0.0259). Triglyceride levels were reduced by 20.6 mg/dL (10.2%) in subjects with blood triglyceride levels of at least 150 mg/dL (P < .05) but not in those with lower levels (to convert triglyceride level to millimoles per liter, multiply by 0.0113). The effects of nut consumption were dose related, and different types of nuts had similar effects on blood lipid levels. The effects of nut consumption were significantly modified by LDL-C, body mass index, and diet type: the lipid-lowering effects of nut consumption were greatest among subjects with high baseline LDL-C and with low body mass index and among those consuming Western diets.

Conclusion:  Nut consumption improves blood lipid levels in a dose-related manner, particularly among subjects with higher LDL-C or with lower BMI.

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Posted in Diabetes Complications, Heart Disease, Nuts

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Why Everybody Should Eat Nuts

Posted on December 7, 2013 | 4 comments
Nuts with more omega-3 fatty acids (compared to omega-6) may be the healthiest

Nuts with the lowest omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratios may be the healthiest. In other words, increase your omega-3s and decrease omega-6s.

Conner Middelmann-Whitney explains in her recent post at Psychology Today. In a nutshell, they are linked to longer life and better health. For example:

In the largest study of its kind, Harvard scientists found that people who ate a handful of nuts every day were 20% less likely to die from any cause over a 30-year period than those who didn’t consume nuts. The study also found that regular nut-eaters were leaner than those who didn’t eat nuts, a finding that should calm any fears that eating nuts will make you gain weight.

The report also looked at the protective effect on specific causes of death. “The most obvious benefit was a reduction of 29% in deaths from heart disease—the major killer of people in America,” according to Charles S. Fuchs, director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Treatment Center at Dana-Farber, the senior author of the report and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “But we also saw a significant reduction—11% —in the risk of dying from cancer,” added Fuchs.

Read the whole enchilada.

Nuts are integral to my Advanced Mediterranean Diet, Low-Carb Mediterranean Diet, Paleobetic Diet, and Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet.

Walnuts seem to have the lowest omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio of all the common nuts. That may make them the healthiest nut. The jury is still out. Macadamia nuts have a good ratio, too. Paleo dieters focus on cutting out omega-6s and increasing omega-3s. Julianne Taylor has a great post on how to do that with a variety of foods, not just nuts.

Steve Parker, M.D.

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Posted in Dietary Fat, Nuts

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New Type 2 Diabetics Not Hurt With Moderate Fruit Consumption

Posted on June 12, 2013 | Comments Off on New Type 2 Diabetics Not Hurt With Moderate Fruit Consumption

 

paleobetic diet, breakfast, paleo diet

Brian’s Berry Breakfast: simply strawberries and walnuts

…according to an article in Nutrition Journal. (BTW, Shelby Hughes,with Type 1 diabetes, mentioned in a recent interview that she eats a fair amount of fruit.) The Nutrition Journal study participants were newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics. This is interesting research because we’ve often assumed that the sugar in fruits would raise blood sugar too high, leading to recommendations to avoid fruits, or at least limit them to one piece daily.

Of course, fruit in an integral component of most paleo diets.

The Well blog at the New York Times covered the story.  You’ll likely find the comments illuminating.  Also see this Diabetes Self-Managment article. I’ll read the original research report when time allows.

—Steve

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Brian’s Berry Breakfast

Posted on February 27, 2013 | 1 comment
paleobetic diet, breakfast, paleo diet

Brian’s Berry Breakfast

My stepson came up with this one.  I never would have come up with it on my own.  If you think breakfast means eating breakfast out of a bowl, this one fits the bill.  And talk about easy!  It’s paleolicious.

Ingredients:

  • 4.5 oz (127 g) fresh strawberries, diced into small pieces
  • 2 oz (58 g) walnuts, crumbled by hand

Mix ingredients together in a bowl and enjoy eating with a spoon while your tablemates eat Neolithic Cheerios.

Nutritional analysis:

  • 76% fat
  • 16% carbohydrate
  • 8% protein
  • 410 calories
  • 17 carb grams
  • 6.2 g fiber
  • 10.9 g digestible carb
  • prominent features: 80% of vitamin C RDA (recommended dietary allowance), 32% of RDA for phosphorus, 27% of RDA for iron, 25% of RDA for magnesium, 21% of RDA for vitamin B6, 19% of RDA for thiamine.  It’s also particularly rich in copper and manganese.

—Steve

PS: Nutritional analysis by free software at FitDay.com

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