Written By: Debjani Arora | Published : September 18, 2018 5:18 PM IST
Try some nuts to keep your heart healthy. © Shutterstock
Do you love munching on nuts? If you do we have some great news for you. Having a handful of nuts each day can help to keep your heart healthy and lower cholesterol levels. There are various studies that say nuts are heart-healthy foods and when it comes to controlling cholesterol they are your best bet. But there is a catch. Nuts are also high in calories. So, you should restrict yourself to a handful of it and not indulge in a bowlful of it. If you are wondering which are the nuts you should choose to boost heart health here are a few of them:
Almonds: Many studies claim that adding almonds to your diet lowers your LDL cholesterol or bad cholesterol. It is the LDL or bad cholesterol that is involved in creating plaques in your coronary arteries and increases the risk of heart attacks. Almonds lower LDL cholesterol in a systemic manner. So by increasing the number of almonds you eat, you can lower your LDL. Clinical studies show that almonds can also reduce the risk of insulin resistance and diabetes. They are also helpful in weight management as a handful of it sets in satiety.
Pistachios: These are the other heart-friendly nuts that are less talked about. There are studies that say eating pistachios can lower blood pressure and LDL cholesterol too. Clinical studies say that people who ate pistachios regularly had less stress and their blood pressure was also under control. In people with diabetes, eating pistachios lowers total and LDL cholesterol and can reduce the risk of diabetes-related heart diseases. If you are looking to lower your blood pressure, improve your response to stress, and lower your cholesterol, consider adding pistachios to your diet.
Walnuts: These nuts are a storehouse of good fats. But while most nuts contain polyunsaturated fatty acids, walnuts are the only ones with a significant amount of a certain type called alpha-linolenic acid. Alpha-linoleic acid acts as an anti-inflammatory agent and has actually been shown to help reduce plaque build up in coronary arteries. Do you need more reasons to include walnuts in your diet?
Peanuts: Of course, you are surprised how peanuts made it to this list. Unlike the tree nuts peanuts failed to gain a reputation of being a heart-healthy food. But there are studies that suggest eating peanuts can lower your cholesterol, particularly when added to other healthy diet choices. In the Nurse s Health Study, women who consumed peanuts and peanut butter lowered their risk of heart disease by 34 per cent. However, if you consume too much peanuts it can lead to abdominal obesity, so beware.
