Forget salad, there could be another food that is great for shedding
those excess pounds, and it might just help to protect your heart in the
long run!
The key to losing weight
could surprisingly be walnuts, according to the findings of a new
study, whereby scientists found that a diet rich in both olive oil and
walnuts – one of the most popular and versatile of all the nuts – could
help boost weight loss as well as increasing the ‘good’ HDL cholesterol
levels in overweight people.
The weight loss results were comparable
to that of being on a lower fat, higher carbohydrate diet and with
regards to the findings, the study has recommended people eating even
just a handful of them each day.
Researchers involved with the study say it is even more beneficial to
eat walnuts which are high in polyunsaturated fats, as they will
provide extra boost to heart health as well as lower cholesterol.
Study author Dr Cheryl Rock, of the San Diego School of Medicine at
the University of California, said she was surprised by the results
demonstrated in the study.
“One of the surprising findings of this study was even though walnuts
are higher in fat and calories, the walnut-rich diet was associated
with the same degree of weight loss as a lower fat diet.
“Considering the results of this study, as well as previous walnut
research on heart health and weight, there’s something to be said for
eating a handful of walnuts a day.”
To come to their conclusion, the team of researchers analysed 245
overweight or obese women aged between 22 and 72, all of whom were part
of a one-year weight loss programme.
The women were randomly assigned to one of three different diets. The
first was a lower fat and higher carbohydrate diet, the second was a
lower carbohydrate and higher fat diet, whilst the third was a
walnut-rich, higher fat and lower carbohydrate diet.
Those assigned to the walnut-rich diet would consume around 43g (1.5
ounces) of the nuts a day – which works out at around one and a half
handfuls.
After a six month follow-up, it was discovered that women across all
of the groups had lost an average of nearly 8% of their initial weight.
Women given the walnut-rich diet were found to have similar amounts
of weight to the two other groups, however also had the added benefit of
noticeable improvements in their cholesterol levels compared to the
women in the other groups.
Specifically, there was a significant decrease noted in the LDL
cholesterol (the ‘bad’ cholesterol) and an increase in HDL cholesterol
(the ‘good’ cholesterol). This was not evident within the other diet
groups.
This happened to be particularly noticeable in the women who were insulin-resistant – a precursor of diabetes.
The researchers believe this was the case as the low-carb high-fat
diet group were urged to eat more foods rich in monounsaturated fats,
found in a variety of foods and oils.
Foods high in monounsaturated fatty acids are believed to improve
blood cholesterol levels, thereby lowering the risk of heart disease.
The walnut-rich diet was found to offer a large amount of
polyunsaturated fats though, and in fact walnuts are the only nut where
the fat is mainly polyunsaturated, which comprises of a high quantity of
alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).
ALA is a plant-derived form of omega-3 fatty acid, an important part
of a healthy working body. Omega 3 must be obtained from a person’s diet
due to the body being unable to generate it itself. This ultimately
means many have insufficient levels of the fatty acid.
Dr Rock admitted as the study only included women, the results may
not be the same for men, and did not measure whether the women actually
fully stuck to the diets assigned to them, although the women probably
adhered to them considering the weight loss experienced.
“In addition to these findings, we hope to explore the effect of
walnuts on satiety, as we believe satiety is a critical factor for
maintaining weight loss,” Dr Rock concluded.
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