HERE'S TODAY'S 'NUTTY' REPORT!
EATING NUTS - ESPECIALLY WALNUTS - CAN BE REALLY GOOD FOR YOUR HEART.
Nibble away - to your heart's content - or more aptly put, to your heart's good health.
According to a new study (presented at the American Heart Association's 5th Annual Conference on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology) daily walnut consumption may improve vascular function and lower LDL cholesterol.
A close look at the study reveals that the heart protection value of walnuts is probably due to one key nutrient that's also available in other foods. Shelia G. West, Ph.D., the lead author of the new study, told researchers at the American Heart Association conference that she and her team at Pennsylvania State University (PSU) wanted to determine if plant-based alpha-linolenic acid (ALA - a precursor of omega-3 fatty acids) would provide clear cardiovascular benefits. Researchers did find that cholesterol levels improved after subjects changed to a high ALA-diet from the standard Americxan diet and vascular unction was also boosted diet where ALA was the most abundant fat type. (In other words, the walnuts provided the expected - hoped-for - benefits.
One cautionary note: The PSU trial was funded by the California Walnut Commission, so naturally the plant-based ALA source in the diets came from walnuts, which provided the total fat in those diets: A little over an ounce of walnuts and about half an ounce of walnut oil daily.
There are number of other good sources of ALA - flaxseed is very high in ALA content, as is flaxseed oil, leafy green vegetables, pumpkin seeds, and wheat germ oil.
10:07:43 AM 
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