This Grandma did not know about nut allergies when her children were young. Now it seems that child nut allergies are rampant. A recent study has shown that nut allergies have tripled in just over a decade.
Recent headlines are focusing on nuts. Nuts in Pregnancy. Nuts allergy remedies for children. Nuts for longevity and weight control. Nuts are all over the media.
First, this Grandma read a New York Times article, December 24, 2013, “Eating Nuts in Pregnancy Tied to Lower Allergy Risk in Offspring,” by Nicholas Bakalar. He writes about a new study:
A new study suggests that mothers who eat nuts during pregnancy can eat them without fear of causing nut allergies in their babies.
Researchers used data from a large prospective study of health and lifestyle among female nurses. They studied 8,205 mothers who were not allergic to nuts and their children born from 1990 to 1994, and found 140 cases of peanut or tree nut allergy among the offspring.
After adjusting for age, race, season of birth, smoking, consumption of fruits and vegetables and other factors, they found that mothers who consumed nuts at least five times a month were almost 70 percent less likely to have a baby with a nut allergy than those who ate nuts less than once a month. . . . .Dr. Young said, “Previously, women were concerned that eating nuts during pregnancy probably would lead to an allergic baby, but our data dispels that. A woman who is pregnant can eat peanuts without fear that she will have a baby allergic to peanuts.”
The next “nutty” thing that hit the news is a new treatment for nut allergies in children that appears promising. Take a look.
Finally, it seems that the media has decided that nuts are the best thing for adults to eat. Nuts can help us live longer. The Washington Post reported a study funded in part by the International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research and Education Foundation at Washington Post site.
THIS STUDY analyzed data on 118,962 men and women who had never had cancer, heart disease or a stroke. Over a span of nearly 30 years, 27,429 of them died. Those who ate a one-ounce serving of nuts – roughly, a small handful – seven or more times a week were 20 percent less likely to have died for any reason than those who never ate nuts. Even those who ate nuts less than once a week had a 7 percent reduction in risk. Consuming nuts at least five times a week corresponded to a 29 percent drop in mortality risk for heart disease, a 24 percent decline for respiratory disease and an 11 percent drop for cancer.
I wonder if the International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research and Education Foundation has a self interest in our eating nuts though!
The study this Grandma loves is the “Eat Nuts, Lose Weight: Study,” reported January 9, 2014 by Nick Tate, at News Max Health.
He says:
Eat Nuts, Lose Weight. That’s the conclusion reached by a new study published in the Public Library of Science journal PLOS ONE that found tree nuts – almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, and walnuts – lower the risk of obesity
and metabolic syndrome.
Researchers at Loma Linda University who tracked the diets of 803 adults found those who ate at least a handful of nuts each week were far less likely to be overweight or develop metabolic syndrome (MetS) – a cluster of conditions including a large waistline and high cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar that increase the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and death.
“Our results showed that one serving [1 ounce] of tree nuts per week was significantly associated with 7 percent less MetS,” said lead researcher Karen Jaceldo-Sieg. “Doubling this consumption could potentially reduce MetS risk by 14 percent.”
. . . .the Food and Drug Administration recommends that people eat 1.5 ounces of nuts per day -“so we need to encourage people to get their handful of nuts every day.”
So, a handful of nuts a day are okay for adults and increase our life span. I am on my way to the kitchen right now. One can never be too thin. . . .
Joy,
Mema
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