Teens can Eat Nuts to Reduce their Metabolic Syndrome Risk

A recent study has indicated that a modest consumption of nuts on a daily basis is linked with improvement in cardiovascular risk profile of the adolescents. The study stated that those individuals who ate at least 12.9 grams of nuts per day (equivalent to eating a small handful of three times per week) had less than half the risk of non-eaters for having metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is a group of clinical features that increases the risk of premature heart disease as well as type 2 diabetes. The study sample was 2, 233 US adolescents, aged 12 to 19 years, who had taken part in National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2003 and 2010. The lead investigator of the study, Roy Kim, MD, MPH, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Heath in Dallas said that a surprising fact is that despite knowing the many benefits that nuts have, teens rarely eat any on a typical day.

The researchers also found that metabolic syndrome risk had decreased with an additional gram per day of nut intake. The lead investigator theorized that benefits may have been offset by consumption of too many calories.

Kim added that metabolic syndrome was a public health problem the findings of which show only a correlation and do not really prove that the risk of metabolic diseases will go down by consuming nuts. The results, however, suggest the probability of a simple dietary recommendation having a significant impact on the metabolic health of the adolescents.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Tree states that consumption of heart-healthy unsaturated fats, fiber as well as other nutrients but they are high in calories.

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Article courtesy: dnaindia
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