dLife membership gives you exclusive access! Get free recipes, newsletters, savings, and so much more!
Membership is FREE!

Go Nuts For Your Heart

By Lara Rondinelli RD, LDN, CDE

People with diabetes need to take special care of their hearts because of the increased risk of heart disease associated with diabetes. Protecting your heart includes many things such as exercising, avoiding refined carbohydrates, decreasing intake of foods high in saturated fat (and avoiding those with trans fats entirely) and increasing other types of healthy foods, including nuts.
When I tell my patients to start adding nuts to their diet, they often look confused and say, “I thought nuts were bad for me.” This is simply not true. Nuts are an excellent, natural, health food full of the good fats — monounsaturated and polyunsaturated — and heath benefits and are continually being studied and touted. A 2005 systematic review of the effect of nuts on blood cholesterol found that consumption of nuts including almonds, peanuts, pistachios, pecans, and walnuts, can significantly decrease total and LDL cholesterol levels when part of a heart-healthy diet. Walnuts are unique because they contain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a plant-based omega-3 fatty acid, which may protect the heart by not only reducing cholesterol, but also reducing inflammation. Inflammation is at the root of arteriosclerosis, the build up of plaque in the arteries. Almonds contain a form of vitamin E, which may have possible anti-atherogenic effects too. The FDA has acknowledged this benefit and approved a health claim for nuts stating, “1.5 ounces per day of most nuts may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.”

In addition to the above health benefits, nuts have little effect on blood glucose since they are low in carbohydrates — an added bonus for people with diabetes. They may also help increase the feeling of fullness when eating (or help you feel more satisfied) due to their fiber, fat, and protein content. It has been thought that because nuts are high in calories that eating nuts may promote weight gain. However, recent studies indicate that including nuts in the diet may actually moderate weight gain by suppressing appetite and fat absorption, but more research is needed to understand this better.

Of course, eating a half-jar of nuts is not a good idea. So don’t sit down in front of the TV with the jar or bag of nuts and then realize you’ve overeaten. If people have trouble controlling the portion size of nuts, I recommend throwing a small handful of nuts into a mini Ziploc bag and take it for a snack to work or out on a day of running errands. This way when you are hungry for a snack, you’ll have the perfect portion of nuts.

Here are some great ways to start adding nuts to your diet today:

• Grab a handful of any type of nut for a snack.
• Sprinkle some slivered almonds on your salad.
• Add some chopped walnuts to your oatmeal.
• Coat chicken or fish in pecans, peanuts,or pistachios, and bake.
• Add some chopped walnuts to your high-fiber muffin mix. • Toast a few slivered almonds and mix in with yogurt.
• Add some peanuts to your favorite stir-fry.
• Crunch up your chicken salad with toasted almonds or walnuts.

Check out this recipe for chicken salad with almonds; you can serve it as suggested, on whole-grain toast, or as an appetizer on cucumber slices or whole-wheat crackers.

>>NEXT: Chicken Salad Recipe>>