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The Healthiest Snack Ever


June 1, 2010

The next time you’re craving a salty snack, skip the potato chips and reach for a can of nuts. That’s because eating at least one handful of this food each day may protect you from heart disease, according to a new meta-analysis in the Archives of Internal Medicine. (One ounce is about one handful.) And consuming larger portions could bring even more health benefits.
Researchers crunched the numbers on nearly 600 study participants and found that those who ate 2.5 ounces of nuts a day (a large size, for sure) experienced a 4.5 percent drop in their total cholesterol and a 6.5 percent decrease in their LDL (bad) cholesterol.
But don’t worry if you can’t meet that number—the scientists found that even those who ate about 1 ounce of nuts saw reductions in their triglyercides and LDL cholesterol.
Although scientists have long suspected that nuts brought about these protective benefits, they note that the mechanism still isn’t pinned down yet. Either way, they point out that the food is certainly nutritious: Nuts are loaded with healthy fats, contain some protein and are “a rich source of additional nutrients, [like] dietary fiber, minerals (eg, copper, magnesium, and potassium) [and ] vitamins (eg, folic acid, niacin, vitamin E, and vitamin B6).”
The best part? The researchers discovered that people benefited no matter what type of nut the study participants ate. So take your pick: walnuts, pecans, almonds, etc… It’s your call.

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