Nuts and Coronary Heart Disease

Did you Know?
Nut consumption reduces the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Millions of people world-wide die from CHD each year. Epidemiological studies have shown that adding moderately walnuts or almonds to ones diet will decrease serum concentration of cholesterol in both women and men. Also, nuts have other protective constituents, such as protein, magnesium, vitamin E, fibre, potassium and alpha linolenic acid.
Combinations of Nuts
Nuts are a good source of food, but too many combinations of nuts when preparing a meal is not good practice; instead use simple combinations of nuts in your diet. Nuts are an excellent source of vitamin E. Walnuts can help reduce the risk of CHD and does not cause a person to put on weight. However, there are drawbacks with some nuts, for example, peanuts are prone to contamination by moulds that produce carcinogens, and the areca nuts have several deleterious effects on oral and general health. Also, almonds that are not matured contain cyanide-producing compounds that can kill a person. Small quantities of walnuts help decrease cholesterol in the body, leading to a reduction of CHD. The fatty acids composition of nuts is high in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, which explains their protective against CHD.
Areca Nuts
Over 200 million people world-wide chew areca nuts. This practice of chewing areca nuts is commonly found in central, southern, and south-east Asia. The habit of chewing areca nuts is now emerging in Western countries. Consumption of areca nuts has been linked to the development of oral submucous fibrosis (a potentially malignant disorder of the oral cavity), and a high rate of oral cancer. The consumption of areca nuts has also been linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and asthma. Areca nuts has a high level of copper (302 nmol/g) compared to other nuts (22-173 nmol/g).
Frequent nut consumption is a protection against coronary artery disease (CAD). It has beneficial effect attributing to the improvement of the serum lipid profile. The lowering of cholesterol as a result of nut consumption is greater than one realises. Nut consumption replaces saturated fat because of the monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) that nuts contain. Also, nuts are rich in many nutrients that may reduce the risk of CVD (cardiovascular disease) by mechanisms that are independent of lowering cholesterol. For a person to benefit from eating walnuts, they need to eat a large amount of the product in order to have a decrease in CHD or CAD. Eating nuts are safe but take care not to eat the harmful ones. However, it is believed that Seventh Day Adventists have a low rate of CHD as a result of eating nuts; and vegans and vegetarians use nuts to substitute meats.