{I guess Snickers bars aren't what they mean, huh?]

Posted on Tue, Nov. 26, 2002

By ANDREW STERN Reuters

CHICAGO - A helping of nuts or peanut butter several times a week appears to significantly lower the risk of developing adult-onset diabetes, at least in women, a study said Tuesday.

Nuts are high in unsaturated fat and other nutrients, which may improve glucose and insulin stability, two factors in warding off type 2, or adult-onset, diabetes that afflicts 16 million Americans and 135 million people worldwide, the study said.

In the 16-year survey begun in 1980 of nearly 84,000 women nurses in 11 U.S. states participating in Harvard University's Nurses' Health Study, the researchers found that consuming a one-ounce (28.3 gram) serving of nuts five or more times a week resulted in a 27 percent lower risk of developing diabetes compared to those in the study who rarely or never ate nuts.

Eating the same helping of nuts between one and four times a week won a 16 percent lower risk of diabetes, it added.

Those in the study were asked to report their consumption of peanuts or "other nuts." While peanuts are legumes, the study noted, their fatty acid and nutrient profiles are "very similar" to nuts. The nut consumption reported in the study was a combination of both peanuts and "other" nuts.

Eating five or more ounces (141.8 or more grams) of peanut butter a week reduced diabetes risk by 21 percent compared to those who never or almost never ate peanut butter, the report added.

Nearly 4 percent of the study participants, or 3,200 women, developed diabetes. There was no suggestion in the report that men would not enjoy the same health benefits from consuming nuts as women.

The report downplayed nuts' reputation for being fattening, finding hardly any association between participants' nut or peanut butter consumption and weight change. Obesity is considered a strong risk factor for developing diabetes later in life.

The unsaturated fats contained in nuts have also been found to be beneficial in preventing heart disease, the study said.

"Given the observed inverse association between nuts and risk of coronary heart disease as well as type 2 diabetes, it is advisable to recommend regular nut consumption as a replacement for refined grain products or red or processed meats, which would avoid increasing caloric intake," study author Rui Jiang of the Harvard School of Public Health wrote in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.

Nuts were also a component in heart-healthy dietary recommendations in another report from Harvard researchers published in the Journal, which drew its conclusions from 147 previous studies on diet and heart disease.

Frank Hu and Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health said a reasonable diet would contain foods with unsaturated fats, like nuts, rather than saturated or trans-fats; omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil or plant sources; and include lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

"There is a growing consensus that excess calories, whether from carbohydrates or fat, will induce weight gain. A mildly (low-calorie) moderate-fat diet, which allows for a great variety in choosing foods, can have better long-term compliance than a typical low-fat diet," they wrote.

"Evidence is now clear that diets including nonhydrogenated unsaturated fats as the predominant form of dietary fat, whole grains as the main form of carbohydrate, an abundance of fruits and vegetables, and adequate omega-3 fatty acids can offer significant protection against (coronary heart disease)," they wrote.

"Such diets, together with regular physical activity, avoidance of smoking, and maintaining a healthy weight, may prevent the majority of cardiovascular disease in Western population."

-- Anonymous, November 26, 2002