Going Nuts For Diabetes

The health benefits of eating nuts daily is well established.

 To an already long list of benefits of eating walnuts, a recent study done by the Yale-Griffin Prevention  Research Center, published in the Fed issue of Diabetes Care, the study indicated eating as little as 2 ounces of walnuts daily, which is about 16-22 halves has a positive effect on cardiovascular health for diabetes.Research showed that the endothelial function improved significantly in those that followed the 2 ounces of walnuts daily for 8 weeks, as opposed to their normal diet.
Interestingly enough, another study published by the American Dietetic Association,  55 participants who were type II diabetics went on a low fat diet. The only group who achieved a cardioprotective fact profile were the ones who ate walnuts every day during the study.Walnuts are also shown as a good source of Omega 3's.

One should also be eating almonds as part of their Type II diabetic regimen. Almonds are a great source of vitamin E, magnesium, potassium, zine, iron, fibre, and a good source of monounsaturated fat. They also contain more calcium than any other nut, making them a good bet if you are a vegetarian. They are known to contain B17, (amygdalin) a controversial anti cancer nutrient. To top it off, they are high in protein.

One last nut to look at today is also one of my favorites. As my old NY Agricultural teachers used to be fond of saying, "Variety is the spice of life". I feel the more interesting and different tasting varieties of healthy foods one cat eat, prevents boredom and balances out the nutritional benefit. In other words, if walnuts, almonds and cashews all have overlapping and different health benefits, why not munch on all three and have the variety of tastes. Cashews which are sometimes referred to as "Nature's Vitamin Pill", rank #1 in  production in the world amounting to somewhere around the 4 billion pounds mark based on statistics from 2002.

The cashew nut provides approximately 5 grams of protein per ounce, along with a good supply of essential minerals such as iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper and manganese. Like most nuts, it also provides

phytosterols, tocopherols, and sqaulene all of which lower the risk of heart disease and they have zero cholesterol.


Psalm 103.3 "Praise the Lord, O' my soul and forget not all his benefits--who forgives all your sins, and heals all your diseases"