Against hypertension Cashew nuts lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels

How does the daily consumption of cashew nuts affect your health??

Cashew nuts are generally considered to be very healthy thanks to their high nutritional and vitamin content. Researchers have now discovered that cashew nuts can even help lower blood pressure and also improve healthy cholesterol levels.

The scientists of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Spain's Instituto de Salud Carlos III and other research organizations found that cashew nuts help lower blood pressure and have a positive effect on cholesterol. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "Journal of Nutrition".

Nuts contain many nutrients and healthy vitamins. The consumption of cashew nuts can lower high blood pressure. (Image: juliasudnitskaya / fotolia.com)

What effect did the consumption of cashew nuts have??

For the study, the experts examined a total of 300 participants with type 2 diabetes. Half of the subjects were asked to consume 30 grams of unsalted, raw cashew nuts daily. After three months, various parameters were examined. It was found that the blood pressure had dropped by 5 mmHg. The so-called high-density lipoproteins (HDL), however, had increased by 2 mmHG, the researchers say. There was also no adverse effect on body weight or sugar content in the body.

Cashews contain many saturated fats

Various studies have already identified the health benefits of other nuts such as almonds and walnuts. However, only few studies have been done on cashew nuts. Nuts are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Unlike other nuts, however, cashew nuts contain a higher amount of saturated fats, explain the authors. About twenty percent of the fat in cashew nuts are of the saturated variety. Researchers wanted to determine if this type of saturated fat has an effect on cholesterol. The physicians explain that the nuts are only beneficial if they are taken in their raw form. The benefits, however, are lost if the nuts are roasted or roasted with salt and other spices.

What did the nutrition of the participants consist of??

Subjects were advised to take a diet of no more than 1,400 daily calories. 60 to 65 percent of the energy came from carbohydrates, 12 to 25 percent came from fat and the rest from protein, explain the researchers. Half of the volunteers who consumed the nuts had to reduce carbohydrate intake to avoid exceeding recommended carbohydrate levels. Biochemical tests were then performed on both groups. This was to ensure that they followed the recommended diet and that the nuts were eaten.

How the cashew nuts affected the subjects?

Participants in the intervention group (cashew consuming subjects) showed a 1.9-fold higher blood pressure reduction than participants in the other group. There was also a 16-fold increase in HDL cholesterol compared to the other group.

Many Asian adults suffer from dyslipidemia

Earlier studies have shown that nuts enhance satiety at breakfast and reduce the amount of second-meal intake in adults, say the experts. The current study was extremely significant because previous research had already found that nearly 80 percent of adult Asian people have dyslipidemia, which is mainly caused by a low HDL cholesterol concentration. Among the considered type 2 diabetics, dyslipidemia was found even in 86% of men and 98% of women.

Nuts protect against coronary heart disease

The results of the study are not surprising, considering that recent studies have already shown the benefits of healthy fat, the researchers explain. People in the Mediterranean region, for example, would have the lowest incidence of coronary heart disease because their diets are high in nuts. (As)