(Frequent nut consumption and risk of coronary heart disease in women: prospective cohort study)
Eating nuts on a regular basis can help to reduce risks of coronary heart disease, according to a paper published in this week's BMJ. Dr Frank Hu and colleagues from Harvard School of Public Health studied the effects of eating nuts on over 86,000 (86,016) women aged 34 to 59 years of age in the USA from 1980 - 90.
Over this 10 year period the researchers found that those women who ate nuts more than five times a week were around a third (35 per cent) less likely to suffer from coronary heart disease. Even after taking account of other confounding factors (such as general diet and exercise) they found that the reduction was still significant.
Hu et al suggest that the protective effect of nuts may be due to the unsaturated fats that they contain which have beneficial effects on serum lipids which in turn help to reduce cholesterol. They also suggest that other potentially protective constituents in nuts include vegetable protein, magnesium, vitamin E and potassium. They conclude that nuts can be included as part of a healthy diet.
Contact:
Dr Frank Hu, Research Associate, Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, USA Frank.Hu@channing.harvard.edu