Antioxidants in pecans may reduce heart risk
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Loma Linda University researchers published a study in the Jan 2011 issue of Journal of Nutrition suggesting that eating pecans may help prevent anthrosclerosis.
Ella Haddad and colleagues found that eating pecans doubled gamma-tocopherol levels in the humans and reduced oxidation of low density lipoprotein or bad cholesterol by up to 33 percent.
Gamma-tocopherol is a type of vitamin E, oxidation of bad cholesterol is believed to increase risk of inflammation in the arteries and cardiovascular diseases.
The study involved 16 men and women aged 23 to 44 who used a sequence of three diets consisting of whole pecans (3 ounces), pecans (3 ounces) blended with water and one meal without pecans.
The researchers tested samples prior to and after meals.
Both whole pecans and pecans with water meals were found to double serum gamma-tocopherol 8 hours after consumption and boosted the capacity of oxygen radical absorbance by 12 and 10 percent respectively two hours after meals.
Pecan meals were also found to reduce the oxidized bad cholesterol by 30 percent 2 hours after consumption, 33 percent 3 hours after consumption and 26 percent 8 hours after consumption.
David Liu
Photo credit - wikipedia
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