I am turning into Nuts!
This blog is the sequel to pre-diabetes blogs. As mentioned in previous blogs, I have 
to consume less of biscuits, sweets and cakes, etc. But you all know how difficult it is to give up all these forbidden food! No more biscuits for breakfast. Snack time is becoming difficult as chips and crisps are forbidden too.
Yes. Of course, I have a piece of fruit and fruit and fruit. But then I get bored with too many fruits and might even turn into a banana! All of a sudden since last month, I crave for mixed nuts. So I started buying about 100 to 300 grams of mixed nuts each week for snacking and I am turning into nuts.
Then I begin to worry about consuming too much nuts. So I did a little research and found the following good news on nuts consumption. I have extracted the following section to share with you all.
Just remember one thing though. I dont think the article suggests that we can eat nuts and drink beer or wine at the same time. No, no, no! I think it is better to consume non roasted nuts as roasted nuts are quite oily and high in salt. My mother in-law usually buys a bag of raw peanuts and then she boils them. When she visits us, she usually bring a bag of boiled peanuts for us. In fact, I finished the whole bag that I got a few days ago. I think they taste better than roasted peanuts and I don’t have to feel so guilty. These days, I feel guilty whenever I eat something that could impact my blood sugar level. I guess this guilt is good to have to safe guard me.
I also had a quick check with the dietitian and she said nuts are good but they can be quite fatty. So the rule of thumb is to consume less and enjoy more.
Anyway, that’s good news for those who loves nuts and for some to turn into nuts!
NUTS - THE SURPRISING HEALTH BENEFITS John Livesey PhD
Scientific Officer
Department of Endocrinology
Christchurch Hospital
New Zealand
http://www.vegan.org.nz/nuts.php
“One of the most unexpected nutritional discoveries of the 1990s was that the frequent eating of nuts appears to dramatically improve health1. In particular, nut eating greatly lowers the risk of heart disease2. In 1992 researchers working on the Adventist Health Study at Loma Linda University in California reported that those eating nuts daily had up to 60% fewer heart attacks than those who ate nuts less than once per month3. The beneficial effect of nut consumption was found for men, women, vegetarians, meat-eaters, fatter people, thinner people, the old, the young, those who did much exercise and those who did little exercise. The study was large, comprising 31,000 white Californian Seventh Day Adventists and similar benefits of nut eating were subsequently found for African Americans4. Prior to the publication of these results, nutritional advice had usually been to minimise nut consumption on the grounds that they were a “fatty” food.
Four other large studies have since confirmed the benefits to the heart of nut eating2, 5-8. In addition to the cardiac benefits of consuming nuts, the risks of having a stroke9, of developing type 2 diabetes10, of developing dementia11, of advanced macular degeneration12 and of gallstones 13 have all been found to be lowered by eating nuts. Calculations suggest that daily nut eaters gain an extra five to six years of life free of coronary disease14 and that regular nut eating appears to increase longevity by about 2 years15. Adding 30 g/day of nuts to a Mediterranean diet resulted in significant reversal of the metabolic syndrome16.”