Diabetics Must Eat Nuts to Prevent Complications: Study

Daily Intake of nuts benefits patients with type-2 diabetes, according to a study.

A past research led by D.J Jenkins from the St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, Canada, discovered the mono-saturated fat compounds in nuts help ward off the risk of heart diseases in diabetic patients. The same study confirmed diabetes can be cured by eating nuts every day. Experts observed 117 participants diagnosed with diabetes mellitus who were divided in to three groups- a group that received 75 grams of mixed nuts, a group that were given 38 grams of nuts along with muffins and a group that ate only muffins, report the Food Consumer.Org.

The overall mono-saturated fat content in 75 grams of nuts was 22 grams amounting to total energy of 2,000 kilo calories. The subjects daily followed the diet for the three months and researchers noted their levels of Glycated hemoglobin or HbA (1c) a marker of the disease. At the end of the trial, participants who daily ate nuts had a reduction of 0.21 percent in HbA (1c) compared to those who did not eat nuts. In addition, the study recorded no changes in the HbA (1c) content in rest of the patients.

Nuts bring down the amount of low density lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol in the body, which is a major risk factor for chronic heart conditions. The researchers also found even 38 grams of nuts can lower cholesterol in people vulnerable to heart disease and who also suffer from diabetes.

According to recent reports by the American Diabetes Association, about 29.1 million Americans had diabetes in 2012 and during 2010 nearly 234,051 death certificates issued cited diabetes as an underlying cause of death.  Majority of diabetes related-deaths are caused by complications like hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, amputation of limbs, hypertension and heart attacks.

These findings encourage diabetic patients to switch to healthy options like nuts and dry fruits instead of food high in carbohydrates in order to achieve glycemic control and reduced serum lipids in the body.

More information is available online in the journal Diabetes Care.