Squirrels seem to have all the luck—a carefree life and a diet that keeps you healthy and fit in ways you hadn’t imagined. Researchers from Harvard Medical School have found that eating nuts five times a week can reduce inflammation, which contributes to heart disease and diabetes among other chronic conditions. They analysed data from two long-term studies: the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS). The 5,013 participants, who were free of heart disease and diabetes at the start, filled out two questionnaires every four years about what they ate between 1986 and 1990 for the NHS study, and between 1990 and 1994 for the HPFS study. Blood samples were also collected every two to three years to look for characteristic indicators of inflammation. It was found that people who ate nuts five times a week had lower levels of markers of inflammation. The type of nuts they ate didn’t matter as they all contain fibre, magnesium and antioxidants.

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Featured in Harmony — Celebrate Age Magazine
October 2016