SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2014
Almond Facts 13
Breeze
Recipe of the Month:
Peaches and cream French toast
Daily Tree Nut Consumption Can Beneft
Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes
Two new meta-analyses conducted by University of Toronto
researchers using tree nuts were recently published in
British
Medical Journal Open (BMJ Open)
and
PLOS ONE
. The
BMJ Open
piece looked at the effects of tree nuts on metabolic syndrome
(MetS) criteria, and the
PLOS ONE
article focused on the effect
of tree nuts on glycemic control in diabetes.
Researchers found that eating two servings a day of tree nuts
helps people with type 2 diabetes lower and stabilize their blood
sugars. The best results were seen when tree nuts replaced
refned carbohydrates rather than saturated fats.
According to Dr. Cyril Kendall, Ph.D and leading researcher
of the study, “Both of our analyses indicate that daily tree
nut consumption has an overall metabolic beneft and can
improve risk factors for metabolic syndrome, and glycemic
control in individuals with type 2 diabetes.”
Maureen Ternus, M.S., R.D., Executive Director of the
International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research and
Education Foundation states, “In 2003, FDA (in its qualifed
health claim for nuts and heart disease) recommended that
people eat 1.5 ounces of nuts per day – well above current
consumption levels. We need to encourage people – especially
those at risk for MetS and those with diabetes - to get their
handful of nuts every day.”
For more information about this research, visit www.nuthealth.org.