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03/29/2024 11:29:07 am

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Walnuts Help Prevent Diabetes, New Study Shows

Walnuts Benefits

(Photo : SCREENGRAB from ActiveBeat via YouTube) A study has shown that eating walnuts everyday can help prevent diabetes.

Are you suffering from type 2 diabetes?  A recent study shows that eating walnuts everyday may help prevent type 2 diabetes.

According to Science World Report, daily consumption of a handful of nuts can help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. Participants of the study were given a handful of walnuts every day for six months. After six months, the participants showed a significant decrease in bad cholesterol (LDL) and even improved blood vessels function compared to those who did not eat walnuts during the duration of the study. Both are factors linked to the disease.

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Thirty-one men and 81 women between the ages of 25 and 75, who are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, were examined in the study. "The participants were randomly assigned to receive dietary counseling to curb caloric intake or did not receive any information regarding changes in their diet. Lastly, participants were then asked to eat 2 ounces of walnuts daily along with any added instructions," Science World Report stated.

After the given time period, a 12-week break was given before the groups exchanged roles - those who ate walnuts for six months did not include it in the diet regimen while the other group consumed walnuts.

According to Star Pulse, after the experiment, the participants' body-mass index (BMI), overall quality of their diet, waist measurements, blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels and blood-vessel function were checked. The researchers found that the participants who ate walnuts showed significant improvement in blood vessel function as well in their overall health, leading them to a conclusion that walnut consumption can help lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

David Katz, MD, lead study author from Yale University School of Medicine, noted that those who did not receive dietary counseling before eating nuts have showed increase in body fat compared to those who have undergone dietary consultation.

However, he said that walnuts possess unique nutritious elements that other nuts don't have. He also reminded that nuts, in general, offers wide range of health benefits. However, few of them are studied in isolation.

"Walnuts are uniquely nutritious, so they likely confer benefits that other nuts do not," he said in a news release. "In general, nut consumption has been associated with health benefit, including reduction in all-cause mortality, but few nuts have been studied in isolation - mostly walnuts and almonds, and to a lesser extent, pistachios."

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