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  Nuts Promote Better Health
November 29, 2000
ALBANY, Ga. (AP) - The turkeys, cakes and pies served during the holidays can
bring guilt and larger waistlines. That often leads to New Year's vows to
diet and exercise.

But all holiday foods needn't evoke images of clogged arteries, heart attacks
and unbridled adiposity.

Recent scientific studies show that at least two holiday foods, peanuts and
pecans, can make people healthier when eaten in moderation.

"They can feel less guilty when they're eating peanuts and pecans because
they're getting many good nutrients ... but they still have to watch their
total calorie intake," said Ron Eitenmiller, a University of Georgia food
scientist in Athens.

Eitenmiller and Phillip Koehler, another Athens food scientist, recently
completed a study on Vitamin E and foliates in Georgia peanuts and pecans.
They did the work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agriculture
Nutrient Composition Laboratory near Washington, which publishes the nutrient
values of various foods.

Nutritionists have known for years that peanuts and pecans were high in
Vitamin E and folic acid. Now, the researchers have discovered that they also
are high in plant sterols - fat-like substances that cause the body to absorb
less harmful cholesterol. They also contain monounsaturated fatty acids,
which can reduce the risk of heart disease.

"Plant sterols are now considered by the medical community and the Food and
Drug Administration as another approach to lowering serum cholesterol," he
said. "The sterols inhibit the absorption of cholesterol."

When Penn State researchers compared diets, people who got their
monounsaturated fatty acids from peanut butter attained nearly the same
health benefits as those who got fatty acids from olive oil. The peanut
butter diet gave a 21 percent reduction in cardiovascular risk, compared with
26 percent for olive oil and 12 percent for a lowfat diet.

The Athens researchers have developed a more accurate method for analyzing
folic acid in foods. Their method has been adopted by the FDA and it is being
accepted worldwide, Eitenmiller said.

They discovered that peanuts have even higher levels of Vitamin E and folic
acid than previously thought. Almost all nuts are high in Vitamin E, an
antioxidant that neutralizes compounds that damage living cells. Folic acid
is well-known for preventing birth defects when taken in proper doses by
pregnant women. The FDA has mandated since 1998 that cereals be enriched with
folic acid to reduce the risk of birth defects.

Peanut consumption declined during the late 1980s and the early 1990s when
nutritionists were recommending lowfat diets. Now they acknowledge that a
moderate amount of fat from such foods as olive oil and nuts can be
beneficial.

The key is moderation. An ounce of peanuts packs 166 calories and 14.1 grams
of fat, while an ounce of pecans has 187 calories and 18.3 grams of fat.

Fat concerns caused peanut consumption to drop from a high of 1.65 billion
pounds in 1989-90 to a low of 1.4 billion pounds in 1994-95. It's been
increasing gradually ever since, reaching nearly 1.55 billion pounds this
year.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.