{"id":4037,"date":"2020-09-01T07:07:28","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T11:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chaneyhealth.com\/healthtips\/?p=4037"},"modified":"2020-08-01T22:33:24","modified_gmt":"2020-08-02T02:33:24","slug":"are-nuts-good-for-your-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chaneyhealth.com\/healthtips\/are-nuts-good-for-your-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Nuts Good For Your Heart?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Which Nuts Are Best?<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>Last week I shared an important study about the benefits of replacing some of the animal protein in your diet with plant protein from whole grains. In case you have forgotten, the study showed replacing just 15 grams of the animal protein in your diet with an equivalent amount of protein from whole grains significantly decreased the risk of premature death from cardiovascular disease, stroke, and from all causes.<\/p>\n

This was an important study because whole grains have been maligned in recent years. Low carb diets, keto diets, paleo diets, and low-lectin diets all recommend cutting whole grains out of your diet. Dr. Strangelove and his friends have been telling us to avoid whole grains, and too many Americans have been doing just that.<\/p>\n

The study I shared last week reminds us that whole grains are good for our hearts. They are a great source of antioxidants, B vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. More importantly, they contain a unique type of fiber called resistant starch that supports the growth of heart-healthy gut bacteria. There are a few other foods that are a good source of resistant starch, but they are also on Dr. Strangelove\u2019s \u201cnaughty list\u201d of foods to avoid.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, you might have come away from last week\u2019s article thinking that other plant protein sources, like beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds, weren\u2019t important for reducing your risk of heart disease. However, the fact that they didn\u2019t reduce the risk of premature death from heart disease in that study was likely an artifact of the way the study was designed.<\/p>\n

The study asked what happens when you change 15 grams of the protein in your diet from red meat protein to different kinds of plant protein. That question was easy to answer for grains because they are a major source of protein in the American diet. However, Americans don\u2019t get enough protein from either beans and legumes or nuts and seeds to provide a statistically valid answer to that question.<\/p>\n

To correct any misconceptions from last week\u2019s article I thought it might be valuable to review a study (M Guasch-Ferr\u00e9 et al, Journal Of The American Journal Of Cardiology, 70: 2519-2532<\/a>) from a few years ago that looked at the effect of nut consumption on the risk of heart disease.<\/p>\n

How Was The Study Done?<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Clinical<\/a>This study started by combining the data from three major clinical trials:<\/p>\n