In the April 23. 2010 post, I wrote about the benefits of eating nuts (see Going Nuts for Mediterranean Snacks); that post was focused mostly on metabolic syndrome, diabetes and managing blood sugar. In May the results of new research done at Loma Linda University in Southern California were published in the Archives of Internal Medicine; it strengthens our recommendation for the use of nuts in your diet. Sabaté, Oda and Ros found in their research review, that eating an average of 2.4 ounces of nuts per day reduced total cholesterol by an average of 5.1% and reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (the bad stuff) by 7.4%. Triglycerides were reduced by 10.2% in those with high triglycerides and the ratio of good/bad cholesterol (HDL/LDL) was improved by 8.3%.

The authors felt that the most significant finding was this: the heart health benefits of eating nuts appears to be dose-related – eating more gives more benefit. For an average person, two servings (2.4 ounces) does a better job than one serving of lowering cholesterol and triglycerides. However, most people should probably limit nut consumption to 3 ounces per day due to their high calorie content.

The researchers don’t know why eating nuts seem to be less effective in lowering cholesterol on obese subjects, but want to do more research to find out.

The lead author, Joan Sabaté said that the type of nuts did not seem to make a difference to the overall health benefit. More good news, they included peanuts in their research, which are legumes and are usually less expensive than tree nuts.

What is it about nuts that make them so nutritious and heart healthy? I guess that we don’t really need to know to reap the benefits (we just need to eat them), but it would be interesting to know what is in nuts that make them so healthy. To begin with, the fat in nuts is primarily unsaturated and monosaturated; they contain quite a bit of fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants – so there are many aspects of nuts that the researchers can evaluate to learn about what makes them so good for us. Even if researchers implicate some single component of nuts, (or two or three), that does not tell the whole story.  As we have repeatedly tried to explain in these blogs, whole foods like unprocessed nuts contain more nutrients, and a complex combination of them, then can be studied in experiments that try to control and study one component at a time.  This is true of other whole foods as well. Since it is hard for a highly analytical research paradigm to “prove” that any one (or few) of the nutrients in a whole food like nuts is what caused the benefits, we are spared (for now) the specter of some supplement maker giving us a bottle of expensive pills to substitute for the enjoyable experience of eating real nuts.

Maybe the word is getting out that nuts are a really healthy component of our diet. Diamond Foods, a U.S. nut manufacturer is growing even faster than the market analysts estimated. Retail sales rose 39 percent in the fourth quarter. Do you think people are developing somewhat more healthy eating habits? It is my hope.

Part of the answer is that Diamond Foods has raised prices (not such good news). But the fact that their ‘snack nuts’ are selling very well; gives me hope that maybe more people are choosing nuts instead of a Twinkie or Snickers.

Good news for us is that the California tree nut crops appear to be setting new all-time tonnage records, which of course, will help keep supplies up while we demand more (that may help keep prices from going too high).

Some people are afraid of eating nuts because of being told in the past that nuts raise the risk of diverticulitis (a painful and dangerous colon condition). In 2008 a study was done that showed that nuts actually reduced the risk of diverticulitis. If you’d like to read more about that study, you can read the full article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, August 27, 2008 – don’t miss the list of 48 references at the bottom of the article (scientists who persist in studying this issue).

We continue to suggest that nuts are a praiseworthy component of a healthy Mediterranean-style of eating. If you want to read more about the benefits of nuts in managing blood sugar and metabolic syndrome, re-read Going Nuts for Mediterranean Snacks.

My hunch is that nuts are probably going to be linked to other health benefits besides heart and diabetes. (OK, so I’m not going out on a limb here.) It really worked that way with the research with whole grains - first it was heart disease, then diabetes. The point is that whole foods found in nature, often are ultimately found to have multiple health benefits. Remember, Good Health Can Be Yummy! Nuts taste good – enjoy them, and benefit your health at the same time.

Dr. Grandma’s Almond Butter

Dr. Grandpa really enjoyed the ‘roasted’ flavor; he noted that it is not in the commercial brand that we sometimes purchase. Other than the roasted flavor, the other nice thing about making almond butter yourself is that you can control the amount of salt – this recipe is very low in salt.

Ingredients:

14 ounces almonds, roasted (see directions below)

¼ teaspoon salt (if desired)

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (1 - 2 teaspoons of extra oil may be necessary to make smooth almond butter)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread the almonds on a baking sheet. You can use whole almonds or chopped almonds. The whole almonds will take a little longer and should be less expensive. I just happened to have the chopped ones on hand in the freezer. The whole almonds take about 8 or 9 minutes and the chopped ones about 7 or 8 minutes. Stir every 3 minutes. If they’re frozen, they will take a little longer. Hint: Store your nuts in the freezer to protect them from rancidity.

After roasting the almonds, add all the ingredients to the food processor and grind until the almonds are smooth; scraping the sides of the food processor at least once during the process. Store the almond butter in the refrigerator.

Use 14 ounces of almonds.

Spread the almonds on a cookie sheet/baking sheet with sides.

Bake until just beginning to color and smell roasted.

Grind all ingredients together.

Scrape sides then grind until smooth.

Store your almond butter in the refrigerator.