PEANUTS: GOOD FOR YOUR HEART AND WAISTLINE, TOO!
WASHINGTON, April 19 /PRNewswire/ -- New studies are showing for the first time that higher monounsaturated fat diets can not only cut risk of heart disease by 25-50%, but also help people to lose weight and keep it off. Researchers at Penn State showed that subjects could lose weight on a higher fat diet as effectively as those on a low fat diet. Harvard researchers showed that three times as many people could stick to the "Mediterranean- style" diets and maintain their weight loss. Subjects added the good fats back into their diets with daily servings of peanut butter, peanuts and mixed nuts.
An assessment of USDA data showed that peanut eaters in the population have better nutrient intakes and body weight profiles. Purdue scientists found that peanut eaters were more satisfied. Peanuts also contain powerful plant chemicals such as phytosterols which can inhibit cancer growth. These and other studies were released at the 1999 Experimental Biology Conference in Washington, D.C.
Penny Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., R.D., Distinguished Professor of Nutrition at Pennsylvania State University, found that a weight-loss diet high in monounsaturated fat (MUFA) provided by peanuts and peanut butter not only lowered cholesterol and triglyceride levels, but helped subjects lose weight. Subjects on both a low-fat (less than 20% calories from fat) and a higher fat (35% of calories from fat, which was mainly monounsaturated) diet lost an average of two pounds per week. Both diets lowered total and LDL cholesterol and raised triglyceride levels, two known risk factors for cardiovascular disease. According to Dr. Kris-Etherton, "Consumers should understand that 'fat-free' does not always translate into weight loss and that healthy diets can include favorite foods, such as peanuts and peanut butter, while promoting weight loss and weight maintenance."
A real-life example of the benefits of adding peanuts and peanut butter to a healthy diet is a study conducted by Frank Sacks, M.D., and Kathy McManus, M.S., R.D., at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Almost three times as many people were able to stick to a higher fat diet that included peanuts and peanut butter during an 18 month, free-living weight-loss study. One hundred and one overweight men and women were assigned to either of two weight loss diets: 1) a low-fat diet and 2) a higher monounsaturated-fat, "Mediterranean-style" diet. They found that subjects on the "Mediterranean-style" diet fared better throughout the study period. Those on the high-MUFA "Mediterranean-style" diet were able to lose an average of 11 pounds each and maintain their weight loss, while those following the low-fat diet gained almost half of the lost weight back, resulting in only a six pound weight loss after 18 months. In addition, over 80 percent of the subjects on the low-fat diet dropped out of the study compared to less than half (46%) of the subjects on the higher fat, "Mediterranean-style" diet.
Rick Mattes, Ph.D., R.D., a satiety expert at Purdue University, examined why peanuts and peanut butter may help people stick to weight-loss programs. Dr. Mattes and collaborator Corinna Lermer found that when 500 calories of peanuts were added to subjects' regular diets, substituted in the diet for other fat, or eaten freely, the results were the same -- the men and women automatically compensated for most of the additional calories and they spontaneously commented on the high satiety of the peanuts. Those who either added peanuts to their regular diet or substituted peanuts for other fats had the added benefit of significantly lowering their triglyceride levels (TG), a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Furthermore, a study conducted by Brenda Eissenstat, M.S., R.D., at Penn State found that peanut eaters consistently tend to have higher levels of key nutrients and overall healthier diets than their non-peanut eating counterparts and that the body mass index (BMI, a measure health professionals use to evaluate body weight) of peanut eaters was found to be more favorable than that of non-peanut eaters.
Lisa Brown, D.Sc., at Harvard School of Public Health examined the eating patterns of subjects in the Cholesterol and Recurrent Events (CARE) trial. People who ate two or more servings of peanuts or nuts a week decreased their risk of having another heart attack by 25%.
In another exciting study, Atif Awad, Ph.D., at the State University of New York at Buffalo identified an important phytochemical, beta-sitosterol (SIT), in peanuts and peanut products. SIT has previously been shown to inhibit cancer growth, especially prostate cancer. He examined the SIT content of peanuts, peanut butter, peanut flour and peanut oil and found that the content varied from 44 mg SIT/100 gm (peanut flour) to 191 mg SIT/100 gm (unrefined peanut oil). Snack peanuts contain 160 mg SIT/100 gm and peanut butter contains approximately 120 mg SIT/100 gm. The amount of protective SIT in unrefined peanut oil is comparable to that of soybean oil (183 mg SIT/100 gm).
In addition to phytochemicals, peanuts contain significant amounts of heart healthy monounsaturated fat, plant protein, fiber, magnesium and vitamin E, all of which may contribute to their healthfulness. Many hard-to-get nutrients such as copper, phosphorus, potassium and zinc are also found in peanuts and peanut butter.
The Peanut Institute is a non-profit organization which supports
nutrition research and develops educational programs to encourage
healthful lifestyles.
SOURCE Peanut Institute
-0- 04/19/99 /CONTACT: Pat Kearney or Kristen Elliott, 703-841-1600, fax, 703-841-1604, or PMKAssoc@aol.com, for The Peanut Institute/ CO: Peanut Institute ST: District of Columbia IN: FOD HEA SU: