Food For Life: Walnuts Reduce Risk of Heart Disease by 50 Percent

Heart disease and cancer, in all different forms, take the lives of a large of number men, women and children in the United States each year. Yet thousands of research studies have shown that making simple lifestyle changes can prevent most chronic diseases.

Foods and nutrients such as resveratrol, curcumin, green tea and leafy greens have demonstrated properties that help prevent and fight cardiovascular disease and cancer, and should be included as part of a regular daily diet and supplement plan.

A research study team based in Spain has published the results of their research in the journal BMC Medicine that explains that those who eat nuts more than three times a week had a reduced risk of dying from cancer or cardiovascular disease than non-nut eaters.

To conduct their research, scientists looked at the effect on the prevention of cardiovascular disease when the participants were put on a Mediterranean diet with extra nuts and extra virgin olive oil, compared with a control group following a low-fat diet. Raw nuts, especially walnuts, helped lower blood pressure and blood lipids to thwart chronic disease.

The scientists analyzed more than 7,000 people aged between 55 and 90 years, and divided them into two groups based on adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet that included nuts, and especially walnuts, or those following a low-fat diet. The team found that people who eat more than three servings of nuts (1 serving equal approximately one ounce) a week had a 55 percent lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and 40 percent reduced risk of death from cancer.

Read More: Natural News

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