Who knew that flying in a plane could be so healthy? If you're anything like me, my favorite part of the plane ride is getting a bag of peanuts. A recent study on peanut consumption and cardiovascular risk found that the overall consumption of nuts reduces the risk of Coronary Artery Disease. Subjects in the study were instructed to consume their habitual diet in addition to peanuts equivalent to 20% of their mean energy intake in one day.
The study concludes that consuming peanuts in addition to your normal daily diet will actually increase your HDL-Cholesterol, which is the good cholestrol. The study goes further to find that pistachio nuts also had a similar affect on lipid (fat) levels. One surprising outcome though is that the subjects of the study actually found it difficult to consume their normal daily diet when also consuming peanuts. The study saw the consumption of both animal protein and carbohydrates decrease and these changes coincide with the dietary changes recommended to prevent Cardiovascular Disease and other chronic diseases.
If I weren’t a nutrition major I would probably find this article to be a bit surprising. I'm sure most of us have heard the saying that we should eat a handful of nuts per day, but have you seen the fat grams on those things? Even though they are high in fat, they are high in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, which are the good fats. Since the fats are good fats, the subjects of the study showed no evidence of weight gain.
So next time you're at the baseball game and you open up your bag of peanuts, just remember that you made a healthy choice. Now that hot dog in your other hand...that's a different story.
This is good news for me, because I have always enjoyed eating peanuts! I had heard that peanuts (and for that matter, all types of nuts) were good for your health and this study confirms it. What I didn't know was how they were beneficial to your health. However, I don't think that the boiled peanuts sold at farm stands are very good for you...
ReplyDeleteI never knew peanuts were that good for you. I read a nutrition book this summer and it said that a hand full of almonds a day was really healthy for you, but that to much would actual do more bad than good.
ReplyDeleteI also didn't know that nuts were so healthy; I definitely didn't know they had "good fats."
ReplyDeleteI knew that they were good for you because protein is really important, and any time you can get that from non-meat, that's great because red meat is not very good for you.
However, I agree that most nuts "fill you up" so it makes sense that most people who eat nuts don't eat as much of other food. That's why eating a peanut butter sandwich can be a complete meal some days!
I knew that nuts were healthy, but like anything else, probably only healthy in moderation. Also, the ones that don't have a lot of salt are probably better for you than ones that do, but besides that they're definitely something good to snack on. I agree with you that my favorite part of the plane ride is getting that little snack, it's just too bad that some of airlines have started to get rid of them!
ReplyDeleteI found this article particularly interesting because I am allergic to peanuts, so I always miss out on those proteins. I am also lactose-intolerant so I miss out on a lot of calcium as well. I do however LOVE boiled peanuts. I have often wondered if they carry the same benefits as roasted nuts. I imagine they would be completely unhealthy due to the large amount of salt required to cook them...
ReplyDeleteI, too enjoy various types of nuts for an afternoon snack. I am aware of the nutritional value in most nuts, however, I think you must be careful as to the way the nuts have been prepared. I prefer "raw" nuts because they are good in the omega-3 fats, but also because the roasting process in dry-roasted nuts takes a "good" food and turns it into a "bad" food. The roasting process causes the fats and oils to turn rancid, which can be harmful to the body.
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