#915 Nuts to You

So science has proved it indisputably. There is nothing as beneficial as a handful of nuts. A handful of nuts can promote dietary health. A handful of nuts can ease metabolic syndrome.
And ultimately, a handful of nuts can make you feel good.
Who would have thought that the answer to a dieter’s dilemma is to reach out and grab a handful of nuts?
Here are the facts. A Spanish group did a study to determine whether the anecdotally reported effects of the Mediterranean diet could be improved. The Mediterranean diet consists of lots of cereals, vegetables, fruits and olive oil, moderate consumption of fish and alcohol, and a low intake of dairy, meats, and sweets.
Dairy, meats, and sweets is the, um, American diet.
The Mediterranean diet all by itself lowers the risk of metabolic syndrome, which is a broad description for a group of health problems that includes abdominal obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high glucose—the quadruple whammy that leads to a quadruple bypass.
The study started with the Mediterranean diet and then enhanced use of different things by three groups. One was put on a low fat diet. One was given an extra liter of olive oil a week. And the other was encouraged to add 30 grams per day of mixed nuts to their diet.
No group lost weight. The olive oil group did better than the low fat Bluto diet, but the group that fared best was of the ones who really ended up loving their nuts. Because after one year the prevalence of metabolic syndrome dropped by 13.7 percent in the nutty group.
I’m inclined to believe the study, although Spain is one of the world’s largest exporters of nuts.
But 30 grams of nuts a day? That’s almost 11,000 grams a year. That’s some serious nut-grabbing. It’s like 11 of those giant nut jugs from Costco.
But hey, what a great Christmas idea. Give the gift of health to the ones you love. A big nut basket!
They’ll know you love them, because each and every day for the whole new year they can enjoy a handful of nuts.
America, ya gotta love it.