Saturday 7 March 2015

Nuts, Fat, Added Sugars: New Research

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March 6, 2015 -- Whether you’re young or old, it's a good idea to cut back on fat and added sugars and eat more nuts. That's according to three new studies, which say those habits may help you stay healthy, and lose pounds or maintain your weight. The studies were presented at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society.

For starters, teens who eat a modest amount of nuts daily have a lower risk of getting metabolic syndrome, says researcher Roy Kim, MD, MPH. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions, such as high blood pressure and high blood sugar, that raises the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Kim is an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. His team studied data on the nut-eating habits of more than 2,200 young people, ages 12 to 19.

Those who ate about a half-ounce daily were healthier, Kim found, than those who did not. They had a lower body mass index (BMI), a smaller distance around the waist, slightly more “good” HDL cholesterol, and lower blood pressure, he says.

Fewer than 9% of the teens ate that many nuts a day, Kim says, and more than 75% ate no nuts at all. "Those eating a lower amount of nuts per day (less than a half-ounce) had more than a doubling of metabolic syndrome” compared to those eating a half-ounce or more a day.

A half-ounce adds up to about 12 almonds, 14 peanuts, or seven walnut halves.

The same link between nuts and a lower risk of metabolic syndrome has been found in adults, Kim says.

Low-Fat vs. Low-Carb Diet

For years, the diet pendulum has swung back and forth, with experts recommending low-carb diets for optimal weight loss, then suggesting low-fat diets, and then back again. Carbs and fat have been taking turns at being ''the evil nutrient," says Kevin D. Hall, PhD, senior investigator at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

But in his small study of 10 obese men and 9 obese women, average age 24, he found that following a low-fat diet led to about a 67% greater body-fat loss than following a low-carb plan.



source : Nuts, Fat, Added Sugars: New Research

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