Almonds

"GW" <look@signature_to.reply> pí¹e v diskusním pøíspìvku
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I've been snacking on almonds (raw or dry roasted, unsalted) and like

'em so

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much I am wondering whether I eat too many for my health. I started

because

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they are said to raise HDL (good cholesterol). But now I'm up to at

least a

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half cup per day and that's a lot of fat.

I'm in my fifties, athletic and trim with no excess weight at all, so

the

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calories don't bother me. BUT, almonds have tons of fat, mostly mono

and

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poly-unsaturated. Is it healthy to eat 50 gm or so of those types of

fat

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every day?

AFAIK, almonds are mostly monounsaturated, like olive oil.

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Will this lead to cardiovascular problems, or will it improve my
cholesterol profile?

It will likely improve lipid profile - HDL will go up, TG down.

As for cardio, who knows... If you believe that altering lipid profile
by diet has any effect to cardio health, or more specifically raising
HDL and lowering TG, then of course you can believe it is good for heart
too...

Mirek

GW schrieb:

Quoted message said:

I've been snacking on almonds (raw or dry roasted, unsalted) and like 'em so
much I am wondering whether I eat too many for my health. I started because
they are said to raise HDL (good cholesterol). But now I'm up to at least a
half cup per day and that's a lot of fat.

I'm in my fifties, athletic and trim with no excess weight at all, so the
calories don't bother me. BUT, almonds have tons of fat, mostly mono and
poly-unsaturated. Is it healthy to eat 50 gm or so of those types of fat
every day? Will this lead to cardiovascular problems, or will it improve my
cholesterol profile?

Almonds are very healthy. Several epidemiological studies have shown
that a high consumption of nuts like almonds significantly _reduce_ the
risk of developing heart disease. Examples are the Nurses' Health Study,
the Adventist Health Study and the Iowa Women Health Study. In those
studies people who consumed a lot of nuts had a risk reduction of 35-50
% for heart disease when compared to those who never or almost never ate
nuts. This reduction is quite important. In the the Nurses’ Health Study
and the Health Professionals’ Follow-Up Study a diet high in fruit and
vegetables was only associated with a risk reduction of 20 %. This
comparison shows the relative importance of nuts for a healthy diet.

Almonds are the perfect health food. They are high in good fats (the
notion that all fats are bad for you is just plain wrong, the
monounsaturated fat in almonds is healthy) and have moderate amounts of
protein (high in the amino acid arginie which is believed to be good for
your blood vessels) and moderate amounts of good carbs (low GI). They
are also high in fiber, in minerals like potassium and magnesium and in
vitamins like vitamin E.

Thorsten

--
"Nothing in biology makes sense, except in the light of evolution"

(Theodosius Dobzhansky)