Chapter 19 Chapter 17 The Neglected Walnut

There is a card in front of me, compiled by a world-renowned German pharmaceutical company. If the doctor advises the patient to change his diet, he will give such a list to the patient who comes to see the doctor, which strictly divides common foods into good ones. And the bad ones, as well as the ones that should be eaten as much as possible and avoided as much as possible.Nuts are banned, and in other books they are also not recommended. In the forbidden column, of course, there are animal foods that are generally considered to be suspected of causing disease, but interestingly, there are also plant foods.It was always nuts and avocados first, and once upon a time there were olives, but then olives came around and regained their reputation because it actually prevents heart attacks.However, the reasons and rationale for this, I have not yet figured out.

Why are nuts taboo?I guess, because it packs too much fat and calories in its hard shell.Today, every self-appointed nutrition expert knows how much disaster fat and calories can bring to health and how much pain it can cause to the body. Nuts are naturally the villain. In fact, nuts are not what people imagine at all. They belong to the food that should be eaten more, and the ranking is at the top.If you don't believe me, try an experiment yourself: From now on, eat a few handfuls of nuts every day for several weeks, and only when you are hungry, or when you have an appetite.It is best to mix different types to eat.Walnuts are essential, as are almonds, hazelnuts, and peanuts, although peanuts aren't actually a nut but a pod-like fruit.Otherwise, you live your life the same way.Before and after the nutcracker experiment, you weigh yourself separately, and if you want to know more details, you can go to the doctor to do blood tests: total cholesterol, low-density, very low-density and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides Don't forget either.

Don't be surprised if, after a few weeks, your cholesterol, especially LDL, drops ten or even twenty percent, while your HDL goes up slightly.You'll also lower your triglycerides by ten, fifteen, or even twenty percent, if you're lucky.As a result, the ratio of triglycerides to HDL cholesterol (essential for unknown syndromes!) will improve dramatically, an effect that few drugs can achieve.Blood fat parameters may also drop, if your doctor notices a rapid improvement in your blood fat profile, don't tell him right away, it's because you didn't follow his orders.Certain effects of nuts have been confirmed by rigorous clinical monitoring studies.These medical literatures, which are available to everyone who is interested, are important to draw attention to, and this seems to be an uncomfortable thing for some professionals.

In short, whether walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, or peanuts are equally effective.It doesn't matter what you eat, and you don't even have to eat nuts.Maybe you don't like nuts?Don't worry, eating fat and fat avocados is just as healthy. In the most accurate metabolic monitoring study to date, experts compared two diets based on the average American diet, one due to its high fat content (36 percent) in peanuts and peanut butter, and the other due to American Heart Disease Low-fat diet (25% fat) recommended by the Institute. A high-fat peanut diet had the same cholesterol-lowering effect as a low-fat diet.But it doesn't lower HDL cholesterol compared to the latter.The formal heart disease diet raised triglycerides by 21 percent, while peanuts, which were banned, lowered them by 12 percent.Scientists from Pennsylvania State University in the United States calculated with a computer model that the peanut diet is twice as effective in preventing heart disease as the traditional heart disease diet.

What exactly is in a nut?This hard-shelled fruit with a delicious kernel contains 50%︱70% fat and 10%︱20% protein.The fat in it is mainly monounsaturated fat.Walnut is an exception. It mainly contains polyunsaturated fatty acids, but it contains the most Omega︱3 fatty acids among all nuts, and the ratio of Omega︱6 and Omega︱3 fatty acids is also the best. What puzzled scientists was that nuts lowered LDL cholesterol far more than their fatty acid content would suggest.Experts explain that this is because nuts contain more protein, soluble and insoluble crude fiber, plant hormones and other active secondary biological components.But the exact reason, we don't yet understand.Nuts keep their secrets.However, it is known that the protein of nuts contains a lot of arginine (an amino acid), which is used by the body to produce nitric oxide, which protects blood vessels, during metabolism.In addition, nuts are also rich in vitamin E, folic acid (a type of B vitamin), magnesium, potassium and copper.

In this regard, the most detailed survey research and the most accurate analysis come from the Nurses' Health Survey of Harvard University in Boston.The study analyzed the relationship between nut consumption and myocardial infarction in 86,000 women over the past 14 years.It may come as no surprise to you that women who ate at least five servings of nuts a week had a 35 percent lower risk of heart attack than those who ate little or no nuts at all.When calculating the risk, scientists take into account all conceivable factors that can affect myocardial infarction, such as smoking, weight, exercise, and so on.Still, the nut is indestructible: only its efficacy can explain the reduction in the incidence of myocardial infarction.

In fact, the Harvard researchers merely confirmed what two other long-term observational studies from the United States had suggested.In these two studies, it was also found that eating nuts had an effect on reducing myocardial infarction mortality, one of them, and even overall mortality. The more you eat, the lower the mortality rate, for men, women, and children .But eat nuts at least once a week or it won't work. Finally, this was also directly confirmed by a clinical monitoring study from the United Kingdom investigating myocardial infarction patients of Indian descent.In this experiment, a group of patients received a general inpatient low-fat diet, and another group received a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and nuts. By adding nuts, the content of Omega︱3 fatty acids was significantly increased.After two years, the group who ate nuts had a 42% reduction in the recurrence rate of myocardial infarction and a 45% reduction in overall mortality.

No one, except a stubborn, ignorant brain, can escape the heart disease-preventing effect of nuts.What I'm curious to know is how long it will be before the experts in nutrition counseling wake up.Or will someone continue to deny the health benefits of nuts in order to protect the orders of the pharmaceutical industry and the business of doctors' offices?