Go nuts for heart health
A traditional Mediterranean diet with a daily serving of mixed nuts may help manage a range of risk factors linked to heart disease. A Spanish study of over 1,000 older adults found that a Mediterranean diet enriched with 30 grams a day of nuts (three of each of the following: almonds, Brazils, cashews, walnuts and pistachios) could help control abdominal fat, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and high blood sugar. Nuts are a good source of fibre, arginine (an essential amino acid), potassium, calcium and magnesium.
Salas-Salvadó et al., 2008. Effect of a Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts on metabolic syndrome status: one-year results of the PREDIMED randomized trial. Archives of Internal Medicine. 168 (22) 2449-2458.
About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
Justine joined Viva! in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. After working as a campaigner, then researcher and writer, she is now Viva!’s head of research and her work focuses on animals, the environment and health. Justine’s scientific training helps her research and write both in-depth scientific reports, such as White Lies and the Meat Report, as well as easy-to-read factsheets and myth-busting articles for consumer magazines and updates on the latest research. Justine also recently wrote the Vegan for the Planet guide for Viva!’s Vegan Now campaign.
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