Eating nuts and nut butters can prevent obesity and heart disease, Harvard study says

• Previous studies have confirmed that nuts including peanuts and peanut butter can play a role in the prevention of heart disease and obesity, and this study is the first to extend their influence to reducing risk of Type 2 diabetes.
• Peanut butter is high in unsaturated fat,magnesium and dietary fibre which all have a beneficial effect on reducing diabetes and heart disease risk.
• Foods high in saturatedfat , in contrast, have been shown to increase risk.
• So researchers from this latest study recommend that nuts and peanut butter replace some foods, such as refined carbohydrates and foods high in saturated fat as a useful way to reduce risk of diabetes,without increasing calorie intake.
• This will help your blood glucose (sugar) remain steady throughout the day, minimizing potentially harmful highs and lows.
• Foods that cause a rapid rise in blood glucosewill have a high GI, so the key is to choose more foods with low GI's regularly.
• Peanuts are an excellent food in diabetes, as part of a healthy diet, since they have a GI of only 14!
• Fats are an essential component of the diet, but too much of certain types can lead to a build up of fatty streaks in the arteries, which can reduce blood flow to the heart.
• Eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
• Salt is the common name for Sodium Chloride and it is the sodium part of salt which is considered to be harmful if taken in excess.