Health, Microbes, and More
Studies have found that increased nut consumption has been associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. A newly published study looked at large groups of people to see if this was due to nuts reducing systemic inflammation throughout the body - which can be measured by inflammatory biomarkers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) ...continue reading "Frequent Nut Consumption Has Health Benefits"
For good health, eating a variety of foods is best. But some foods, such as olive oil, seem to be especially beneficial. A recent study found that high olive oil consumption lowers the risk of developing dementia, perhaps due to its anti-inflammatory properties and improving vascular health. The large long-term study found that high olive ...continue reading "Daily Olive Oil Consumption Lowers Risk of Developing Dementia"
A very interesting, but very preliminary study just came out about breast cancer and walnuts. Could follow up research really show this to be true - that eating walnuts has an anti-breast cancer effect?? Animal studies find that multiple ingredients in walnuts (e.g.alpha linolenic acid, beta-sitosterol, a number of antioxidants such as ellagic acid) reduce the risk ...continue reading "Walnuts Have An Effect On Breast Cancer Tumors"
Another study found benefits from eating nuts - this time an association between frequently eating nuts and better brain functioning in older adults. The study was done in China and was part of a long-term nutrition and cognitive function study of 4822 adults (aged 55+ years). With aging, it is normal to have some decline ...continue reading "Another Reason To Eat Nuts Frequently"
Once again, a study finds that consumption of nuts is beneficial to health - this time by impacting the gut microbiome (community of microbes) in a beneficial way. This was a nicely done study -18 healthy adults randomly assigned first to either eating about a handful of walnuts daily (42 g) or zero nuts daily for ...continue reading "Walnuts Feed Beneficial Gut Bacteria and Other Health Benefits"
Are there foods that could prevent cancer? Well... studies show that a dietary pattern with lots of fiber, and perhaps along the lines of the Mediterranean diet, may be the most beneficial. In other words, it's not just one or a few "super-foods" that a person should eat, but an overall dietary pattern. But one ...continue reading "Nuts And Colon Cancer"
Amazing study results - if true - about some health benefits of eating nuts. Just tree nuts, not peanuts (which are actually a legume). Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston found that colon cancer survivors who ate at least two ounces (57 grams) of tree nuts a week were 42% less likely to ...continue reading "Is It Possible That Eating Nuts May Prevent Colon Cancer Recurrence?"
A large review of nut studies found that people eating a daily handful of nuts (about 20 g) have a lower risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, premature death, and death from respiratory disease, type 2 diabetes, and infectious disease. Truly impressive. Benefits seem to be for all nuts, and also peanuts - which are ...continue reading "A Daily Handful of Nuts Keeps the Doctor Away?"
Surprising results (to me at least) from research comparing various diets and incidence of several cancers in 11,082 individuals in the Netherlands over a 20 year period. I expected the daily meat eaters to have higher rates of the 3 cancers studied, but no.... According to this study, looks like frequent meat consumption is OK ...continue reading "Maybe Daily Meat Consumption Is Not So Bad"
Nice summary article about the known benefits of nuts and seeds, and the nutrients they contain. Bottom line: all nuts and seeds are beneficial to health. It's best to eat a variety of nuts, and eat some nuts daily or at least a few times a week. A typical serving is 1/4 cup or small ...continue reading "Many Health Benefits of Nuts and Seeds"