A more extensive study into the long-term effects of nuts on the human diet back up the findings regarding heart disease, but found that many (if not most) nuts have this affect, not just macadamia nuts and peanuts (Johnson). This study showed an even more profound effect than that mentioned in the above, however. Whereas the first study mentioned above found that macadamia nuts were able to reduce the risk of heart disease -- that is, a preventative effect -- the study reviewed by Johnson reveals that nits are actually able to reduce and even reverse some of the causes and effects of heart disease, completely eliminating its appearance in forty-eight percent of a trial group in one year (Johnson). This result even compared favorably to other dietary methods of controlling and curtailing heart disease and its causes -- eating nuts reduced heart disease, obesity, and other risk factors (Johnson).
As with all foods, nuts are not entirely perfect. One of the more extensive studies on the subject of the nutritional value of nuts conceded that they were proportionately much higher in fat than many other foods, even though it was "good fat" (Mattes et al.). This also, the researchers noted, makes nuts very energy dense, and they set out to determine if nuts were actually more likely to cause obesity (one expected result of...
It turned out that the nutritional advocates were right -- not only did the energy and nutrient delivering properties of nuts prove to have more of an impact on people's health, but the researchers in this study actually found that the consumption of nuts resulted in a lower body mass index for participants after starting a diet that included nuts (Mattes et al., 8). This means that people eating the nuts not only gained the other health benefits, but they actually lost weight, without other major changes to their diets (Mattes et al., 9). Just as nuts are not a miracle food, they are not a miracle diet aid, but the evidence from this research shows that the energy-dense nuts promote metabolism and perhaps even encourage people to exercise and shed a couple of pounds (Mattes et al., 8). Either way, the issue of fats in nuts has been laid to rest.
Again, nuts are not a miracle food, but it is clear that they provide a distinct nutritional advantage over many other foods. Their high amounts of energy, the "good" fats they have in abundance, the many nutrients they pack inside and -- most important of all -- their fantastic taste all make nuts a great and nutritional snack, and a welcome…
