• A daily serving of nuts can slash risk of life-threatening heart problems
• Health benefits includes lowering cholesterol and reducing inflammation
• Latest research confirms previous studies showing health benefits of nuts

A daily serving of nuts can slash the risk of heart disease by nearly a third, new research shows.

Snacking on peanuts, cashews and Brazil nuts instead of sugary or fatty treats cut the chances of life-threatening heart problems by around 30 per cent.

It also reduced the number of deaths from all causes by about 17 per cent.

The latest research, by US and Chinese scientists, is the latest in a long line of studies highlighting the substantial health benefits of including nuts as part of the daily diet.

Nuts contain a combination of nutrients which lower cholesterol and reduce inflammation

Last year, researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that nuts significantly curbed premature deaths rates from heart disease and also lowered the chances of dying from cancer by 11 per cent.

Nuts contain a rich combination of unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. These work together to lower cholesterol and reduce inflammation in the body.

Experts from Hua  Zhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China and Harvard School of  Public Health in Boston, USA, looked at the health benefits of nuts by pooling  data from a number of earlier studies.

This research  technique can produce a stronger result than small-scale studies with limited  numbers of people.

They included 18  different studies, covering more than 12,000 cases of type two diabetes, 15,000  cases of heart disease and almost 50,000 deaths.

The results,  published online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showed that for  each daily serving of nuts the risk of heart disease dropped by between 28 and  29 per cent and the danger of death from any cause was 17 per cent  lower.

However, there was  no significant difference in diabetes rates between nut eaters and non-eaters  and a relatively small reduction in the risk of stroke.

In a report on  their findings the researchers said: ‘These findings support recommendations to  include nuts as part of a healthy dietary pattern for the prevention of chronic  diseases.’

Please follow and like us: