[tabi] interesting article on managing diabetes and insulin
- From: "Chip Orange" <Corange@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:33:22 -0400
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at-walnuts-prevent-diabetes?utm_source=email&utm_medium=SilverpopMailing
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Eat Walnuts...Prevent Diabetes
4023.jpg
We've been losing the fight against diabetes-the prevalence of this
deadly disease
has increased by more than 175% since 1980.
Good news:
There's an easy and economical way to help guard against type 2
diabetes. Just eat
a particular type of nut-the walnut.
The news comes from a huge Harvard study that looked at data on nearly
138,000 women.
Every two years, participants answered detailed questions about their
health and
lifestyle. Every four years, they completed lengthy questionnaires about
their diets,
indicating how often they consumed each of more than 130 foods, with
answers ranging
from "never or less than once per month" to "six or more times per day."
At the start
of the study, none of the women had diabetes...by the end of the 10-year
follow-up,
nearly 6,000 had developed the disease.
The researchers performed a careful analysis that adjusted for age, body
mass index,
family history of diabetes, smoking, menopausal status and other factors
that affect
diabetes risk. They also adjusted for consumption of various unhealthful
foods (such
as sugar-sweetened drinks and processed meats) and healthful foods
(whole grains,
fish, fruits, vegetables and various types of nuts).
What they found:
Women who ate two or more ounces of walnuts per week, on average, had a
24% lower
risk for type 2 diabetes...those who ate just one ounce of walnuts per
week had a 13%
lower risk.
Other types of nuts conferred some benefits, but mainly through weight
control, the
researchers said. The walnut, however, has a number of properties that
make it a
winner in the fight against diabetes. For one thing, of all the common
tree nuts,
walnuts are highest in
polyunsaturated fats
, containing 47% of these fats by weight-and there is good evidence that
polyunsaturated
fats have favorable effects on how the body uses insulin. Walnuts also
are the richest
of all nuts in a particular type of healthful polyunsaturated fat called
alpha linolenic acid
. What's more, walnuts are high in fiber and plant protein and have been
shown to
decrease total cholesterol and LDL "bad" cholesterol. These nuts also
are loaded
with vitamin E and polyphenols that have antioxidant properties.
Bonus:
Even though walnuts (like other nuts) are high in calories, they don't
seem to cause
weight gain in a balanced diet-perhaps because they are so filling and
satisfying.
Do men get similar protection against diabetes from eating walnuts?
Research will
have to prove it, but odds are good that they would.
Going nuts:
The best part is that walnuts aren't some specialty product you have to
go out of
your way to buy, and you don't have to drown yourself in walnuts to get
the benefits.
Two ounces is only 28 walnut halves per week...that's just four halves
per day.
Walnuts are a great snack to have on the road or at work because they
don't need
to be refrigerated (though if you're going to store them for a while,
putting them
in the fridge or freezer will keep them fresher longer). While this new
study did
not look at whether the participants ate their walnuts raw, roasted or
otherwise
cooked, you can certainly use them in cooking if you like because heat
won't significantly
affect their health benefits. To increase your intake, try adding
chopped walnuts
to cereal, salad, rice or soup...stirring ground walnuts into to a
smoothie or yogurt...and
spreading walnut butter on celery sticks or apple slices.
Source:
Frank Hu, MD, PhD, professor of medicine, Harvard School of Medicine and
Channing
Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and
professor of nutrition
and epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, all in Boston. His
study was published
in
Journal of Nutrition.
Listing Details
Publication:
Daily Health News
Original publication date:
June 13, 2013
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- » [tabi] interesting article on managing diabetes and insulin - Chip Orange
