The You Docs Tip of the Day: A formerly forbidden snack, nuts, can take down diabetes

BY MICHAEL ROIZEN, M.D., AND MEHMET OZ, M.D. - KING FEATURES SYNDICATE

Published: 10/08/08


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As evidenced by snake charmers and "Survivor" contestants, the world has all kinds of nuts. And they (meaning the kind you eat) can do far more than satisfy a midafternoon snack attack. Large studies have shown that an ounce of nuts a day decreases the incidence of heart disease by 20 percent to 60 percent. And newer research has found that eating a handful of nuts or a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter five times a week can lower your risk of type 2 diabetes. That's huge, because more than 24 million people have diabetes right now, and the numbers keep going up.

But nuts have their own hierarchy (and we're not talking about who gets voted off the island first). You want them to be raw, fresh and unsalted. That's because nuts lose up to 15 percent of their healthy oils when they're roasted (roasting at high temps may also cause the formation of chemicals that promote aging). Here's our pecking order for processing nuts, from best to worst:

* Fresh

* Freshly toasted or dry roasted (in your oven: roast at 350 F for 9 minutes)

* Roasted in their own fat and salted (packaged)

We don't eat any nuts roasted in partially hydrogenated fat or sugared nuts.

To fend off diabetes, you need to keep your waist size and belly fat to a minimum, so if you spread peanut butter on your whole-wheat bagel, have half a bagel instead of a whole one. If you're looking for an afternoon pick-me-up, don't add nuts to your usual munchie; replace your snack with the nuts. Also key: Do something physically challenging on most days of the week and walk every day!

The You Docs - Mike Roizen and Mehmet Oz - are authors of the best-selling "You: The Owner's Manual" and "You: On a Diet." To submit questions and find ways to grow younger and healthier, go to www.RealAge.com.

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