Fat Heart

If you heard someone declare “I don’t like broccoli” or “I hate spinach”
along with an accompanying grimace, you’d probably not be too surprised.
But I haven’t heard very many people complain, “I hate nuts.” It’s a good
thing nuts are not typically on the top 10 list of despised foods, because
they could possibly save your life. Or at least help your heart.

Of the numerous diets out there, one of the most highly touted is the
Mediterranean diet which, among its benefits, can help keep your heart
healthy, even likely reversing the risks associated with heart disease. A
Mediterranean diet emphasizes eating a lot of fresh fruit, vegetables (oh
those veggies again) and fish, cutting back on red meat and using healthy
fats like olive oil.

This diet has been linked to decreases in what is known in the medical
community as “metabolic syndrome,” a collection of heart risk factors
which include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar
and abdominal fat.

A group of researchers from Spain, led by Dr. Jordi Salas-Salvadó,
performed a study that maintained adding a handful of nuts to the daily
Mediterranean diet mix can be very beneficial; even healthier than
increasing your intake of olive oil.

Aren’t nuts high in calories you might ask? They can be depending on the
type of nuts and/or the amount you eat. But adding a few in lieu of
snacking on potato chips isn’t going to kill you (unless you’re allergic
to nuts, of course).

In the Spanish study, conducted over a year, over 1200 subjects were
divided into 3 diet groups: low-fat diet, Mediterranean diet with daily
servings of olive oil and Mediterranean diet with extra nuts. Both of the
Mediterranean diet groups used olive oil for cooking, but the second group
had to consume more than four tablespoons of olive oil per day.

The results showed that adding nuts to the Mediterranean diet improved
cholesterol and blood pressure and reduced belly fat in those
participants. That’s because nuts contain unsaturated fat, a “good fat”
that can increase good cholesterol and help the body burn fat. The “nutty”
Mediterranean diet group in fact showed the most favorable decrease in
metabolic syndrome. Dr. Salas-Salvadó’s study is published in the December
8, 2008 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

So go nuts - pop a few hazelnuts, almonds or walnuts daily for extra
health benefits.

About the Author

Valery Fortie is the National Awareness Coordinator of
Mediterraneanbook.com. Valery is also the editor of the mediterranean diet
blog, a directory and news source focused on healthy eating habits to
prevent effects of high blood pressure to live longer and better.

Mediterraneanbook.com is a non commercial website created to preserve the
Italian Healthy Eating Traditions. Founded in 2004 in Italy,
Mediterraneanbook.com feels very strongly about having informed consumers
on duty in all healthy eating fields.

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