If you've been looking for more natural solutions to cut your cholesterol levels, consider adding walnuts to your diet, according to a recent meta-analysis of 13 studies conducted at Harvard University.
Although researchers were quick to point out longer and larger trials are necessary to evaluate the long-term effects -- good and bad -- of including walnuts in a healthy diet, a review of short-term trials tracking the health of 365 patients from four to 24 weeks -- and with walnuts providing up to 24 percent of a person's total calories -- looks promising.
In comparison to the diets of control subjects, patients whose diets were supplemented with walnuts enjoyed a significantly greater decrease in total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. What's more, walnuts may provide significant benefits beyond lowering cholesterol, researchers said, including no adverse effect on body weight and boosting antioxidant levels.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 90, No. 1, p. 56-63, July 2009
NutraIngredients-USA.com July 2, 2009