This holiday season, you may want to give nuts as gifts to your loved ones. A recent study shows about twenty grams of nuts daily can do wonders to your health. The study, which was conducted by Imperial College London, found that nuts have high level of antioxidants.
A Handful Of Nuts Reduces Cancer And Heart Disease By 20 Percent
The team looked at data from different countries, which have around 819,000 participants - with some participants having coronary heart disease, some with cancer, cardiovascular disease and other illnesses. The study involved all kinds of tree nuts, like hazel nuts and walnuts, and also peanuts.
What they found was a handful of nuts every day, or about 28 grams, was linked to around 20% reduced risk of heart disease, cancer and death from any cause. The same amount of nuts was also associated with a reduced risk of getting diabetes by 40%.
Dagfinn Aune from the School of Public Health at Imperial, and co-author of the study said: "We found a consistent reduction in risk across many different diseases, which is a strong indication that there is a real underlying relationship between nut consumption and different health outcomes. It's quite a substantial effect for such a small amount of food."
Nuts Are Rich In Fiber And Protein
Walnuts, sunflower seeds and pecans are very rich in antioxidants, which are said to protect the body from harmful molecules called 'free radicals'. Eventhough nuts are high in fat, experts say they are still healthy because they contain poly-unsaturated fat or "good fats", fiber and protein. The research also suggests that nuts could even reduce obesity risks over time.
The researchers conclude that "higher nut intake is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, total cancer and all-cause mortality, and mortality from respiratory disease, diabetes, and infections."
