Abigails Herbs

While scientific evidence already supports the benefits of nuts for heart health, a new study suggests that consuming  just a handful of nuts each day may specifically benefit people with metabolic syndrome- a group of risk factors for heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

This is good news for the more than 34 per cent of American adults who reportedly have metabolic syndrome, which is characterized by excess belly fat, high blood sugar,  high blood pressure, low HDL (good cholesterol),  and high triglycerides (a type of fat found in the blood).

For the study, researchers at the University of Barcelona divided 42 men and women with metabolic syndrome into two groups. Both groups followed the same heart-healthy diet every day for 12 weeks with one exception: The first group’s diet included one ounce of raw, unpeeled walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds. The second group ate no nuts over the same period.

Using new techniques to analyze the effects of diet on the body by measuring biochemicals in the urine, researchers were able to show that the nut-eating group experienced healthy chemical changes in the body that the other group didn’t , such as reduced inflammation related to heart disease and increased metabolism. They also found substances in urine samples that indicated high levels of healthy fats (unsaturated fatty acids) and serotonin. According to the authors of the study, the chemical serotonin plays an important role in energy balance, metabolism and blood sugar regulation.

Nuts are close to being nautre’s perfect food. Most are rich sources of protein with essential amino acids, such as tryptophan and L-arginine, healthy unsaturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, such as viamin E and folic acid, fiber, and antioxidants. Walnuts are great for alleviating inflammation, bloating and internal parasites.

The down side to nuts is their high caloric content – one ounce can contain as many as 200 calories. But a 2009 study associated nut consumption with a lower risk of weight gain. So, as long as you stick with a small portion a day, you will still be able to safely reap the health benefits of nuts.

This article was taken from the Johns Hopkins Medicine journal, “Health After 50,” Volume 24, March 2012.

Oh this trouble with these blasted allergies! Maybe because it has been such a mild winter here in the eastern part of the USA; my allergies are kicking up some major discomfort. I can’t stand it because it gives me sinus congestion, intense pressure headaches  in back of my eyes and I get so spaced-out that I can’t think clearly. I call that “foggy brain.”

I got a neti pot and I use a gentle saline solution in distilled and warm, boiled water to irrigate my nasal passages. It really helps to ease the sinus pressure and pain. A study at Massachusetts’ Lahey Clinic found that 84% of subjects who practiced nasal irrigation had fewer allergy symptoms within days. You simply stick one end of the neti pot in one nostril, breathe through your mouth (with your head over the sink), and the saline solution will drain out the opposite nostril. Then you switch nostrils and do it again. It feels like being  knocked down by a wave at the ocean. It seems disgusting, and it feels strange, however, it is very effective at clearing  the mucous out of your head.

Allergy sufferers whose diets are high in an omega-3 fat found in walnuts have far fewer symptoms – even during the peak pollen seasons. That’s because “the alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) in walnuts revs up your immune system’s ability to destroy viruses, while dampening its reaction to pollen,” reports Fred Pescatre, M.D., author of  The Allergy and Asthma Cure. 

Just eat one ounce of walnuts or one tablespoon of walnut oil everyday for best results. So,  using the neti pot for daily sinus cleansing and eating walnuts and the oil are just a couple of strategies one can take to give some great allergy relief.