WOULD YOU ever have thought that you could lower your risk for type 2 diabetes by adding a little peanut butter to your diet? Well, research coming out of the Harvard School of Public Health (U.S.) suggests that in women, who ate more nuts and peanut butter, their type 2 diabetes risk was considerably lowered.
What's in nuts to go nuts about; the researchers point out that nuts are high in the good fats, that is, the unsaturated fats (such as polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats). Nuts also contain other nutrients which the researchers believe improve glucose and insulin equilibrium.
Nearly 84,000 women aged 34 to 59 were followed up for 16 years. These women had no history of the common chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease or cancer. Nut and peanut butter consumption was inversely associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes after adjustment for age, body mass index, family history of diabetes, physical activity, smoking, alcohol use and total energy intake. Those women who ate a serving of peanut butter five times per week had a 20 per cent lower risk of type 2 diabetes when compared to those women who ate little or no peanut products.
Remember though that peanuts and peanut butter are really high in calories so use them conservatively. Nutritionists recommend one or two tablespoons of peanut butter per serving or a handful of peanuts per serving.
