Eating Nuts can Lower Cholesteral

Source: BBC

Eating nuts can lower cholesterol, say experts

Nuts may block cholesterol absorption, experts say
Eating nuts may help lower cholesterol levels, US research suggests.

The review of 25 studies, involving nearly 600 people, showed eating on average 67g of nuts - a small bag - a day reduced cholesterol levels by 7.4%.

The US Loma Linda University team believes nuts may help prevent the absorption of cholesterol.

UK experts said the research showed nuts were an important part of a healthy diet, but warned against eating nuts covered in sugar or salt.



Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8673208.stm

:boring:

mark

You're gonna love my nuts.

if it improved their intelligence and common sense more the better. But I think their type of tea dumbs them down even more.

At least, that was the disclaimer the local news added to the story this morning.

I subscribe to several nutrition and health newsletters, and nuts are always mentioned as among the "healthiest" foods, esp. walnuts and almonds.

These kinds of fats are nature's roto routers of the blood stream. Kinda like a natural way to keep the arteries around the heart clear and flowing..
Olive Oil is another source of this kind of fat.

Maybe a nut-covered doughnut. I can feel the blood flowing better already!



:hi:

food is good for ya.

Some nuts, like peanuts and cashews, have a lot of fat; others, like almonds and walnuts, don't.

25 "studies" involving 600 people total? that's an average of 24 people per study- hardly enough to generalize to the total population. Hereditary factors, exercise and diet also play a big role in cholesterol levels, more than nuts, I'd venture.

don't believe the hype. Low fat is bad for you!!!

>>don't believe the hype. Low fat is bad for you!!!

Overweight is more caused by carbs / sugar than "fat". And there is a huge factor in the *different* types of cholesterol (not just HDL, LDL).

Low FAT *IS* bad for you. All hormones etc come from fat thru cholesterol.


The rise in obesity is sugar and carbs. Take a look in any store and see how much is snack carbs: cookies, sugar, cereal, chips, etc, etc.

Nutty little buggers!

:evilgrin:

Most nuts are packed in a facility containing nuts...

can raise it!

Hmmm, I seriously need to look into this actually. My cholesterol sucks.

Increases good cholesterol which somehow decreases bad cholesterol. Knocked 30 points off of my bad cholesterol last year. yay!

I tried several 'natural' remedies with little benefit unfortunately. Only Lipitor was able to knock it down, but I didn't like how it made me feel. I'm going to research the nuts.

I wonder how pine nuts do

Before the advent of the "Stains" the only good treatment for high Cholesterol was niacin (Vitamin B-12) for it had the effect of converting LDL ("bad") Cholesterol to HDL (Good) Cholesterol. Niacin is still the only drug the converts bad to good cholesterol (exercise also has the effect of converting Bad to Good Cholesterol).

My point is with the use of Niacin (Or any of its relatives) you will NOT see a drop in any overall Cholesterol count, but you should see a conversion from LDL to HDL Cholesterol. HDL Cholesterol appears to PREVENT heart attacks, while LDL Cholesterol is an indication that you are heading for one.

More on LDL and HDL Cholesterol:
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=180

Now I am on a Niaspan (A Niacin variation), Tricor, Lipitor and Zitia regime. This combination has dropped by Cholesterol count almost 400% (That what you get when you go from 800 Plus to below 200). I have not had an angina attack in over 20 years of being on a "stain" and Niacin,, but understand HOW both the "Stains" work and how Niacin works, the former actually removes Cholesterol, Niacin just converts it from a bad form to a good form.

Tricor and Lipitor are "Stains" that seems to work together and reduces cholesterol (Both work through the liver where removal of Cholesterol appears to occur naturally). Zitia (Which my doctor took me off when my cholesterol count stayed below 200) works in the bowels. When I went on it (and when I went off it) I had a two to three weeks problems with my bowel movement (Tendency to diarrhea). I have NOT had a problem with Lipitor or Tricor, through I do notice if I am off them for a few days my sexual drive picks up). I read one place where their compared Cholesterol with testosterone and both seems to be very closely related (i.e. the high Cholesterol may be the result of some malfunction in testosterone production NOT a problem with the liver). Women tend to be safe when this increase sex drive hits me (I like sex, rape is NOT sex) except if they would have me.... But other then that I have NOT had any problems with Lipitor or Tricor. I have had an ache in my arm (which may be a side affect of Lipitor) but it is minor and recent development.

Now, I also have to watch for "side affects" that are NOT "Side Affects" per se, but my body doing what it is SUPPOSE to do, but given my long history of high Cholesterol I never had before. The classic example of this is hunger pains. I never had them growing up. I never had them even when I did NOT eat for days (I was on a voluntary crash diet, but no "hungry pains"), but after a few years on Lipitor as my cholesterol drop to "Normal" I started to have "hungry pains" after a few hours of not eating i.e. about lunch time, about dinner time. When I was growing up I always ate, but NOT when I was hungry, but when it was time to eat set by others (or by convention, everyone else was eating so I did). Thus I do NOT think these "hungry pains" are a true side affect of Lipitor, but the side affect of my Cholesterol returning to normal levels and my body responding as it should when it needs feed.

Just comments on the "side affects" I have notice while on Lipitor, all controllable. Now, Niacin has a nasty side affect on me, but it occurs rarely and within about an hour of me taking it. Every so often (more often when I take niacin without food, but NOT that much more often) it turns me beat read with a severe rash. It goes away after about 30 minutes (And occurs more often in summer then winter, for I notice when it hits I need to turn on the A/C to "cool down" the rash). I have been on Niaspan for over 20 years and I still get such attacks, but they are rare, almost NEVER in Cold Weather and taking the Niaspan with food seems to minimize the effect.

The above are the only side affect I have notice while on the above medication. The Physician Desk Reference mentioned others but I have never had them hit me (or never realized they were hitting me). Overall I believe I am better off on the medications then off them but that is my view based on my experience with the drugs.

from Trader Joe's.

Love them.

Otherwise I couldn't afford to eat nuts every day.

I LOL every time I walk past the nut section at a typical grocery store.

They're really a legume rather than a nut.

so there is a tradeoff for the cholesterol-lowering quality.

I try to keep my total daily fat intake under 30 grams, so nuts are not so good for me.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol/CL00002

Cholesterol: Top 5 foods to lower your numbers
Diet can play an important role in lowering your cholesterol. Here are five foods that can lower your cholesterol and protect your heart.
By Mayo Clinic staff

Addictive stuff :)