cashews

I still have not seen “Fed Up” the movie but understanding the philosophy i’m looking at everything I eat.  My good friend Jeanne started an Facebook group where a bunch of us are sharing recipes, info and supporting each other to eat more healthy.
I had my first port stint appointment with my cardiologist. I was proud of my good behavior but I did tell him to take the heart healthy low fat and shove it but in the nicest way possible. Citing food from the hospital list that they gave me to eat I told him I doubted that peanut butter and jelly on white bread was hardly heart healthy and that most of the foods on the menu  were heart unhealthy.I told him I was going to eat whole foods and lots of fruits and veggies. Nothing from a can. “Like a Mediterranean diet” yes like that sort of us (mixing in some of Nordic diet- eating root veggies and joining an organic food coop to eat whats seasonal.  Just skipping the reindeer!)

I also very innocently asked why if I have a genetic fatty liver and my cholesterol would always be high and why if my blood pressure is low do I have to take high blood pressure meds. He referred me to pcp who I will be seeing next week. But that another story.
i can’t seem to eat meat, chicken or fish, Just the thought wigs me out. So i’m looking at nuts as a good protein source.

Not only do cashews have a lower fat content than most other nuts, approximately 82% of their fat is unsaturated fatty acids, plus about 66% of this unsaturated fatty acid content are heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, similar to those found in olive oil. Studies of diabetic patients show that monounsaturated fat, when added to a low-fat diet, can help to reduce high triglyceride levels. Triglycerides are a form in which fats are carried in the blood, and high triglyceride levels are associated with an increased risk for heart disease, so ensuring you have some monounsaturated fats in your diet by enjoying cashews is a good idea, especially for persons with diabetes.
Research published in the British Journal of Nutrition (Blomhoff R, Carlsen MH), which identified several nuts among plant foods with the highest total antioxidant content, suggests nut’s high antioxidant content may be key to their cardio-protective benefits.
Nuts’ high antioxidant content helps explain results seen in the Iowa Women’s Health Study in which risk of death from cardiovascular and coronary heart diseases showed strong and consistent reductions with increasing nut/peanut butter consumption. Total death rates decreased 11% and 19% for nut/peanut butter intake once per week and 1-4 times per week, respectively.
Even more impressive were the results of a review study of the evidence linking nuts and lower risk of coronary heart disease, also published in the British Journal of Nutrition. (Kelly JH, Sabate J.) In this study, researchers looked at four large prospective epidemiological studies—the Adventist Health Study, Iowa Women’s Study, Nurses’ Health Study and the Physician’s Health Study. When evidence from all four studies was combined, subjects consuming nuts at least 4 times a week showed a 37% reduced risk of coronary heart disease compared to those who never or seldom ate nuts. Each additional serving of nuts per week was associated with an average 8.3% reduced risk of coronary heart disease.
Practical Tip: To lower your risk of cardiovascular and coronary heart disease, enjoy a handful of cashews or other nuts, or a tablespoon of nut butter, at least 4 times a week.
Help Prevent Gallstones
Twenty years of dietary data collected on 80,000 women from the Nurses’ Health Study shows that women who eat least 1 ounce of nuts, peanuts or peanut butter each week have a 25% lower risk of developing gallstones. Since 1 ounce is only 28.6 nuts or about 2 tablespoons of nut butter, preventing gallbladder disease may be as easy as packing one cashew butter and jelly sandwich (be sure to use whole wheat bread for its fiber, vitamins and minerals) for lunch each week, having a handful of cashews as an afternoon pick me up, or tossing some cashews on your oatmeal or salad.
Eating Nuts Lowers Risk of Weight Gain
Although nuts are known to provide a variety of cardio-protective benefits, many avoid them for fear of weight gain. A prospective study published in the journal Obesity shows such fears are groundless. In fact, people who eat nuts at least twice a week are much less likely to gain weight than those who almost never eat nuts.
The 28-month study involving 8,865 adult men and women in Spain, found that participants who ate nuts at least two times per week were 31% less likely to gain weight than were participants who never or almost never ate nuts.
And, among the study participants who gained weight, those who never or almost never ate nuts gained more (an average of 424 g more) than those who ate nuts at least twice weekly.
Study authors concluded, “Frequent nut consumption was associated with a reduced risk of weight gain (5 kg or more). These results support the recommendation of nut consumption as an important component of a cardioprotective diet and also allay fears of possible weight gain.”
 (source http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=98)

I made cashew butter in my bullet -it was fabulous! Tasted like frosting
http://magicbulletblog.com/cashew-butter-by-lizzie/

I’m still looking forward to seeing Fed Up. Maybe we can sponsor a medical night at the movies and invite all the cardiologists!