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Walnuts May Beat Olive Oil for Heart Health
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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 The California Walnut Board -- which has also funded several similar studies -- petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration more than two years ago for its permission to formally claim that walnuts reduce the risk of heart disease.
So far, the FDA has only approved a "qualified health claim," which says that "supportive but not conclusive research shows that eating 1.5 ounces of walnuts per day as part of a low-saturated-fat and low cholesterol diet, and not resulting in increased caloric intake, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease."
For its part, the American College of Cardiology had the paper reviewed by Dr. Robert A. Vogel, professor of medicine at the University of Maryland. He issued a statement saying, "This demonstrates that the protective fat from walnuts actually undoes some of the detrimental effects of a high-saturated-fat diet, whereas a neutral fat, such as olive oil, does not have as much protective ability."
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People who eat the so-called "Mediterranean diet" -- lauded by many nutritionists as heart-healthy -- believe that olive oil provides the major cardiac benefit, "but this research indicates that's not true," Vogel said. "There are probably other factors in the diet, including that it is a relatively rich source of nuts."
More research is needed to determine whether the protective effect of walnuts is affected by heating and cooking, or whether they are best eaten raw, he added.
More information
More on the nutritional benefits of walnuts is found on the FDAs Web site (www.cfsan.fda.gov ).
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Copyright © 2006 ScoutNews LLC. All rights reserved.
Last updated 10/9/2006
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SOURCES: Emilio Ros, M.D., Ph.D., director, Lipid Clinic, Hospital Clinico, Barcelona, Spain; Oct 10, 2006, Journal of the American College of Cardiology online; Oct. 9, 2006, news release, American College of Cardiology
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