In the News: Pecans

I love all kinds of nuts and use them a lot in my cooking and baking. Beyond their great taste, nuts are a wildly healthy food. This week, pecans are in the spotlight.

A new research study release this week from Loma Linda University (LLU) shows that adding just a handful of pecans to your diet each day may inhibit unwanted oxidation of blood lipids, thus helping reduce the risk of heart disease. Researchers suggest that this positive effect was in part due to pecans’ high content of vitamin E. In fact, pecans contain several different forms of vitamin E.

Oxidation of fats in the blood – a process akin to rusting – is detrimental to health. When “bad” cholesterol becomes oxidized, it is more likely to build up and result in arteriosclerosis.

This is good news. So go nuts!