When it comes to nuts, many people may think of "health". But there were news reports before that a 46-year-old Ms. Chen, who heard that eating nuts is good for her health, ate a pack every day for three months and also ate some peanuts and walnuts to "additional meals" and found hyperlipidemia during the physical examination.
Image from: Weibo screenshot
Although there may be many reasons for "high blood lipids found during physical examination" and cannot be simply equated with "usually love to eat nuts", when you see this news, many people probably have the same doubts: Is there any relationship between eating nuts and high blood lipids? How to eat nuts healthy?
not to look at
Eating nuts appropriately can relieve dyslipidemia and promote the health of lipid .
Nuts contain high unsaturated fatty acids and dietary fiber, strong sense of satiety, and reasonable consumption will not make people gain weight.
Try not to buy nuts that are moldy, have a odor of fat or have a scent of hot oil.
Nuts should be eaten in different types.
Try not to eat nuts seasoned with salt and sugar, and try not to eat fried nuts.
The recommended amount of soybeans and nuts per day is 25-35 grams.
01
Will eating nuts cause hyperlipidemia?
The more accurate statement of hyperlipidemia should be "dyslipidemia". Blood lipids are the general term for cholesterol , triglyceride and lipid in serum. Indicators for reaction to blood lipids include triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), etc. If total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides are all increased, it can be called "hyperlipidemia". However, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is called "good cholesterol" and can clear the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in the blood, that is, "bad cholesterol". We hope that high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) will be higher. In fact, many studies have found that eating nuts appropriately is beneficial to alleviating dyslipidemia and promoting blood lipid health. A meta-study analyzed the relationship between eating nuts and blood lipids, and it was found that eating about 50-100 grams (about 1.5-3.5 servings) of nuts per week can reduce total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in people with normal blood lipids and high-fat people. One study summarized intervention experiments of 25 nut consumption trials conducted in 7 countries and showed that regular consumption of nuts improves blood lipids, especially in people with higher LDC-C.
02
Eating nuts is easy to gain weight?
There is also a saying on the Internet that says: "A handful of melon seeds and a spoonful of oil will make you gain weight easily after eating nuts." Is this true?
Image from: Weibo screenshot
In fact, eating nuts in moderation will not make people gain weight.
The reason why I think it is easy to gain weight after eating nuts is mainly because the fat content of nuts is very high, ranging from 40% to 80%. Eating nuts after dinner will cause excessive energy intake during the day, especially after dinner, eating nuts while playing on your phone and watching TV shows, which will of course make you lose weight.
However, if you eat nuts right, it will not make people gain weight.
On the one hand, nuts are rich in unsaturated fatty acids.
Some studies believe that compared with saturated fatty acids, they are more likely to be oxidized and have a greater thermal production effect, thereby reducing fat accumulation. Unsaturated fatty acids can also reduce the content of low-density lipoprotein, which is "bad cholesterol".
On the other hand, nuts are rich in dietary fiber and have a strong sense of fullness. Especially for large almonds , small almonds, hazelnuts and other nuts, eating these nuts during meals will not increase the total energy in a meal. Some studies have found that if large almonds are included in a meal and eaten with starchy food , the satiety after the meal can last longer, and it will still work in the next meal, and the fullness effect will last for the whole day.
Because of this, many studies have found that eating nuts appropriately will not make people gain weight. A study analyzed the diet and body mass index (BMI) information and data collected in European prospective cancer and nutrition studies, and found that participants gained an average of 2.1 kg of body weight during the study period.Not only do people who consume the most nuts gain less weight than their peers who don’t eat nuts, they have a 5% lower risk of overweight and obesity. Recently, a University of Toronto study summarized the results of 121 clinical trials and prospective studies, with a total sample of more than 500,000, covering a variety of nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia , pecans , pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts and peanuts), as well as people with various health conditions and statuses. The results also believe that eating nuts will not lead to obesity. Therefore, as long as you eat it right, nuts will not make people fat.
03
Do you want to eat nuts?
should be eaten. In fact, from a nutritional point of view, although nut fat is high, most of it is unsaturated fat (good fat); it is also rich in protein and dietary fiber. vitamins E and B vitamins (especially B1), calcium, magnesium and potassium in minerals are also prominent. Judging from current nutritional research, eating nuts appropriately is still good for health. Many studies have found that eating nuts has a certain relationship with the reduction of risk of colon cancer in diabetes , cardiovascular disease, hypertension , and women. Of course, there is a prerequisite for this: the total energy does not increase. If you eat nuts wildly and eat too many nuts, not only gain weight, these health benefits will be gone.
04
What nuts are good for eating?
There are many types of nuts on the market, such as almonds, badanmu , pine nuts, pistachio ... Which one is better to buy?
In fact, there is no saying "what kind of nut must be better". The nutrition of each nut will be different. They also have their own different tastes and nutritional advantages. Everyone can choose freely according to the principle of "whoever you like"
, but it is recommended that you usually eat various nuts or different foods. Nowadays, many nut gift packs and gift boxes on the market are sold in a mix of various types, which is very convenient to buy them home.
05
How to choose nuts?
When you buy nuts, I remind everyone to pay special attention to two points:
1. Whether it has a musty smell.
If there is a musty smell, it means that the nut may contain mycotoxin contamination. For example, the most worrying aflatoxin , which may cause liver cancer .
2. Is there any smell or sensation of stale oil?
If there is a smell or a scent of non-fresh oil, it means that the fat in the nut has undergone fat oxidation, and there may be more oil oxidation products. Not only is the nutritional value greatly reduced, but the oil oxidation products may also be harmful to health.
If you find these two situations when buying nuts, it is best not to do so.
06
How to eat nuts healthily?
Here are some points to pay attention to when eating nuts healthy:
1. Try to eat nuts that are not seasoned with sugar and salt.
Most processed nuts are added with salt and sugar too seasoned. It is easy to eat too much, and you will eat more sugar and salt, which is not good for your health.
2. Eat less fried nuts, add a layer of fried nuts wrapped in powder on the outside.
Many nuts are usually fried in oil, or are covered with powder and then fryed. The nuts themselves have not low fat. Frying will make them more oily. Eating more weight and controlling their blood lipids are not friendly.
3. Eat in moderation, don’t eat too much. The prerequisite for eating nuts is to be healthy is "appropriate". The nuts themselves are also high in fat, so don't eat a lot if you think they are healthy. " Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents 2016 Edition " recommends eating about 25 to 35g of soy nuts every day, with about 7 to 8 small nuts such as peanuts, cashews, and almonds, and 2 to 3 large nuts such as walnuts and mawaiian nuts.
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Author | Ruan Guangfeng Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center Director of Science and Technology
(Popular Science China)
