Remember that old saying ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’. Now it is scientifically proved that ‘A handful of nuts make diseases go nuts’. Yes it is absolutely true that eating nuts could save you from various hazardous diseases such as heart attack, cancer and many more.

However, people specially women, find it difficult to make adjustments in their diet and refuse to include some of the life saving nuts, because the old belief that nuts contain only fats is still prevalent.

Thanks to recent research that shows nuts can help ward off diseases. But one should not eat them by the truckload, however nuts could substitute for less nutritious food such as cheese or chocolate bars.

Research shows the benefits of some of the nuts on human kind:

1) Defense against diabetes

Peanuts and Walnuts::
The fat and nutrients in nuts may improve glucose and insulin stability in people with Type 2 diabetes. Those who eat nuts at least five times week cut their risk of type 2 diabetes by nearly thirty percent.

2) Slower progression of cancer cells

Walnuts and Pecans::
A form of vitamin E present in walnuts and pecans appears to slow the growth of lung and prostate cancer cells. Gama-tocopherol attacked the cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone.
Walnuts also contain melatonin, a hormone that destroys free radicals. Free radicals are unstable compounds that are a by- product of cellular metabolism in our body; if they are not neutralized, they can cause cardiovascular disease and cancer.

3) Helps heart pump better

Pistachios, Peanuts and Almonds::
The polyunsaturated fat in nuts lowers LDL or bad cholesterol levels and there monounsaturated fat raises good HDL cholesterol level. It is believed that eating 37 grams of almonds a day lowered LDL cholesterol by 4.4 percent; eating 73 grams a day reduced it by 9.4 percent.

Experts advise that one should eat unsalted nuts as salted nuts can lead to high blood pressure.

via : reader’s digest