Nuts are great for the heart

The largest study ever conducted on the relationship between nut intake and heart health, based on European data, has confirmed that regularly eating nuts can help reduce risk of coronary heart disease. The researchers identified that nearly half of Europeans rarely consume nuts, yet an intake of just two servings of nuts per week, where each serving is about a handful (30 g) may reduce risk of death from CHD by 11%. These new results, presented at this year’s World Cardiology Congress in Barcelona, Spain, provide increased validity for the health benefits of nuts.

Prof Elio Riboli, professor of cancer epidemiology at Imperial College, London, the UK arm of the research team said: “The important thing is that very modest consumption is associated with protection. A small plate of nuts with a glass of wine would be a healthy amount. A classic aperitif accompanied by a dish of nuts at least twice a week would be an ideal combination”.

The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC) study was designed to investigate the relationship between diet, nutritional status, lifestyle and incidence of cancer and heart disease across ten European countries, including the UK. Dietary and lifestyle information, including nut consumption was collected from nearly 400,000 people between 1993 and 1999.