Find out which nuts lower cholesterol and how many of them you should eat a day
Researchers have learned more information about the health benefits of pecans.A new study has found that pecans are very healthy. Researchers from the United States and Mexico found that consuming Carya illinoinensis nuts mitigates the health effects of a high-fat diet. In addition, pecans improve the gut microbiome and reduce inflammation.
The scientists conducted the study on mice. As part of the experiment, they studied the animals for 18 weeks. One group was on a high-fat diet and received whole pecans, while the other group was on a similar diet but received only pecan polyphenol extract.
Both the whole pecans and the extract supplement helped the mice reduce percent fat mass, blood cholesterol, insulin levels and the HOMA-IR score (homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance). Nuts increased metabolic activity in brown adipose tissue and decreased lipid content in the liver.
Metabolic dysfunction and lipid accumulation in the liver play a major role in chronic diseases such as fatty liver disease.
Although more research is needed, the scientists believe the mouse models reliably reflect human metabolism. The authors of the paper stated that a person weighing 59 kg should consume 22-25 pecan halves, or 21.6-36 g of defatted pecan nut flour per day. There are about 196 calories in 20 pecan halves.
The study is published in the journal MDPI.