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Nuts and Diabetes

Overview

Nuts and Diabetes Try the following to enjoy nuts as part of a healthy eating plan for diabetes management: References

Nuts and Diabetes

Diabetes can be easily managed with the inclusion of nuts in your diet. Tree nuts such as almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, chestnuts, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts are packed full of beneficial nutrients for people with diabetes. Eating nuts regularly may even help prevent the onset of diabetes later in life! Nuts are an excellent snack for those living with diabetes, in fact, it would seem nuts can play an important role in improving a diabetic diet. There are any ways to incorporate nuts into a diabetic diet, keep reading to find out more!

Healthy Fats

People with diabetes have an increased risk of developing heart disease later in life. This risk can be reduced by replacing unhealthy saturated fats in the diet with healthy polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, such as those found in nuts. Some people with diabetes also benefit from replacing some of the carbohydrate rich foods in their diet with foods rich in monounsaturated fats.

Low Glycemic Index

Cashews, chestnuts and pecans have a low glycaemic index (GI), which means the carbohydrate they contain is broken down slowly by the body. This results in a slow, steady rise in blood glucose levels, which is beneficial for people with diabetes. While the GI of other nuts has not been tested, all nuts, with the exception of chestnuts, are low in carbohydrate and high in protein. This means they are likely to have a low GI but further research is required to confirm this.

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Arginine

Arginine is an amino acid, or building block of protein, found in nuts. Arginine has been shown to help insulin work more effectively in people with diabetes. It can also improve the overall health of blood vessels, assisting in the prevention of the heart-related complications of diabetes.

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Fibre

Nuts are a source of fibre. A diet high in fibre, particularly soluble fibre, improves blood glucose levels, helps insulin work more effectively, and lowers “bad” LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels in people with diabetes.

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Antioxidants

Antioxidants in nuts include phenolic compounds, tocotrienols, luteolin and flavonoid compounds. All of these help prevent clogged arteries and improve the functioning of blood vessel walls.

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Try the following to enjoy nuts as part of a healthy eating plan for diabetes management:

Snack on almonds or pistachios throughout the day
Sprinkle cashew nuts or chestnuts through a stir-fry.
Roast macadamia nuts and toss them through a salad.
Crumble pistachios or pine nuts onto grilled fish or pasta
Crush walnuts into your favourite pasta sauce
Crush Brazil nuts or pecans over fresh fruit and yoghurt
Puree any nuts for a great alternative to peanut butter
Stuff potatoes or pumpkin with a mix of almonds or pine nuts and veggies
Add a mix of any nuts to your chicken stuffing mix.

References

This information was provided by Nuts For Life. Images and Videos were provided by Nuts For Life.Nuts for Life For further information on nuts and health, refer to www.nutsforlife.com.au or phone 02 8295 2300

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Blanched Roasted Peanuts (500g) 500 g

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Raw Macadamias (500g) 500 g

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Raw Blanched Almonds (500g) 500 g

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Contact us and we'll be more than happy to provide you with the information you require to make decision about nuts in your diet. Additionally, we recommend enquiring with your General Practitioner, particularly when dealing with the addition of nuts to diet when treating specific health problems.