Go nuts for your heart

New review of evidence shows that nut consumption can keep your heart healthy!

We all know nuts are a great source of protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals but it turns out, they can also help protect our hearts. A new review of all studies conducted in the past 25 years on nut consumption and heart and circulatory health revealed that if you make nuts a regular part of your diet, it can lower your risk of fatal and non-fatal coronary heart disease, heart attack and sudden death.

The main mechanism by which nuts protect your heart seems to be that they improve the composition and proportion of fatty particles naturally present in your blood. It’s because nuts in general contain only little saturated fat and are a good source of unsaturated (healthy) fats. There’s also evidence that this health-protective action may be supported by the powerful antioxidants and minerals nuts provide.

If you’re wondering which nuts to eat, aim for variety – almonds are good for calcium, Brazil nuts for selenium, cashews for magnesium, walnuts for omega-3 fats, pistachios for extra antioxidants and pecans for manganese.

_{Bitok E and Sabaté J, 2018. Nuts and Cardiovascular Disease. Progress in Cardiovascular Disease. 61(1): 33-37.}