June 26, 2002 -- A fistful of nuts a day may keep the doctor at
June 26, 2002 -- A fistful of nuts a day may keep the doctor at bay and keep your heart healthy. A new report shows men who eat nuts twice or more a week are less likely to die from heart disease or sudden heart death.
The findings are only the latest in a series of studies to suggest nuts may help protect your heart. But researchers say the biggest benefits may lie in reducing the risk of sudden death due to heart rhythm problems.
Compared with men who were not big nut eaters, those who ate nuts at least twice a week were about half as likely to fall victim to sudden heart death. And the nut eaters were 30% less likely to die from heart disease, according to researcher Christine M. Albert, MD, MPH, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues.
Their study appears in the June 24 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. Researchers studied information from more than 21,000 men who were followed for about 17 years.
Although men who ate a small packet of nuts (about one ounce) more than twice a week were less likely to die suddenly from heart disease, nuts did not seem to affect the risk of nonfatal heart attacks or other slowly developing causes of heart-related deaths.
Experts say those findings suggest that something in nuts may help protect against heart rhythm problems, which are a major cause of heart-related sudden death.
Sudden heart death from a deadly heart rhythm -- due to clogged heart arteries -- is suspected to have caused the recent death of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile.
"It may not be the nuts themselves but the nutrients in them that are responsible for the reduction in risk," says Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc, professor of nutrition at Tufts University and vice chairwoman of the American Heart Association's nutrition committee.
Lichtenstein says it's most likely the omega 3 fatty acids found in nuts that provide protection against the heart rhythm problems that can lead to sudden death.
Researchers say walnuts contain especially high amounts of these fatty acids compared with other types of nuts. Nuts are also rich in magnesium, potassium, and vitamin E, all of which have the ability to protect the heart, according to the researchers. In addition, nuts contain substances known as flavonoids, which have recently been shown to reduce the risk of heart-related deaths.
Although several studies have shown a link between eating nuts and reducing your risk of heart disease, Lichtenstein says they have yet to find a direct relationship and more research is needed to determine if nuts have any special heart-healthy properties.
Making nuts a part of healthy diet isn't a problem, Lichtenstein tells WebMD. But she says it's foolish for anyone to think that merely adding a couple of servings of nuts a week alone can drastically reduce their risk of heart disease.
"The emphasis is too much on adding foods, which is not good," says Lichtenstein. Most people already weigh too much and have too much saturated fat in their diets. Instead, she says, "It's got to be part of an entire package."
That means eating a diet that's low in saturated fat, rich in fruits and vegetables, and incorporates a variety of foods along with following a regular exercise program.
