More evidence adding nuts is a healthy choice

By Genevra Pittman

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People can safely add a few nuts to their diet - or replace other foods with the high-unsaturated fat, high-fiber snacks - without gaining weight, a new review of past studies suggests.

Researchers combined data from 31 trials conducted across the globe and found that on average, there was very little difference in changes in weight or waist measurements between people who were put on a normal or nut-supplemented diet.

"Most of the nut-enriched studies don't show that patients gain a significant amount of weight, in contrast to what one might think," said Dr. David Bleich, head of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark.

Gemma Flores-Mateo from the Institut Universitari d'Investigacio en Atencio Primaria Jordi Gol in Tarragona, Spain and colleagues said previous research has tied nut-containing diets to a lower risk of death, diabetes and high blood pressure.

Bleich, who wasn't involved in the new report, said his own work has shown measures of insulin resistance - a diabetes predictor - were lower when people added nuts to their diets.

"One would generally think if you're increasing the ?fat content' of the diet, you might in fact make insulin resistance worse," he told Reuters Health. "It speaks to this issue of the quality of the fats that we consume."

Nuts may also suppress hunger because of their unsaturated fats, fiber and protein, the researchers noted.

In the trials they looked at, participants were randomly assigned to a normal diet or one that included extra nuts - or, more often, nuts substituted for other food items - and followed for anywhere from two weeks to five years.

At the end of follow-up, people on nut diets had dropped about 1.4 extra pounds and lost close to half an inch off their waists, compared to those in the nut-free groups. However, the differences could have been due to chance.

"Although the magnitude of these effects was modest, the results allay the fear that nut consumption may promote obesity," Flores-Mateo's team wrote last week in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

"Our findings support the inclusion of nuts in healthy diets for cardiovascular prevention."

However it's not simply a matter of "throwing additional nuts into your already poor-quality diet," Bleich said. He said heart protection comes from looking at a fuller picture of the diet - and adding fruits, vegetables and olive oil, for example, in addition to nuts.

Dr. Adam Gilden Tsai, an obesity researcher from the University of Colorado in Denver, said he wouldn't recommend people eat nuts on top of their normal diet, but that substituting them for other foods may lead to some benefits, such as on cholesterol levels.

"It's fine to eat nuts if you can still limit your calories," Tsai told Reuters Health. But he cautioned that it can be hard for people to eat just one serving.

"Normally what I would say to a patient is, ?A small handful of nuts can be a very good and filling snack, but you have to be very careful because it's high in calories.'"

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/15MepVc American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, online April 17, 2013.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/more-evidence-adding-nuts-healthy-choice-194748740.html

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Australian behind new Titanic plans political bid

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) ? A wealthy Australian who is rebuilding the Titanic plans to do the political equivalent. Clive Palmer said Friday he intends to refloat the United Australian Party, a once dominant force in Australian politics that sank without a trace in the 1940s.

The mining magnate plans to revive the Great Depression-era party and stand candidates for every seat in the House of Representatives and Senate at general elections on Sept. 14. Palmer intends to run himself in the electoral district in Queensland state where he owns a golf resort.

"I'm standing to be the next prime minister of Australia," he said.

"I have no personal interest. I have made enough money in my life. I'm not seeking any enrichment of wealth for myself, I'm seeking it for the Australian people," he added.

Analysts say the UAP could win a few conservatives seats with a campaign bankrolled by Palmer. But any gains by the party are unlikely to alter the election result, with opinion polls pointing to a crushing victory by the conservative opposition.

Palmer said he decided to enter politics because of poor policy decisions by the center-left Labor Party government and a lack of confidence in the opposition coalition.

He said his party would stand on a platform of honesty in government free of vested interests.

"Politicians are being compromised by the reliance on lobbyists and their client's check books," he said.

He described the historic example of UAP as a "shining light" for where Australia needed to go.

Palmer had been the leading donor to the conservative Liberal National Party which governs Queensland and is part of the federal opposition. But he quit the party in November after failing to win its endorsement to run for federal politics against Deputy Prime Wayne Swan and public clashes with the Queensland Premier Campbell Newman.

The 59-year-old businessman has cultivated a reputation for bold and unconventional plans. In February, he announced that construction will soon commence in a Chinese shipyard on a replica of the famously doomed ocean liner Titanic that could set sail in 2016.

Last month, he announced he had ordered 117 mechanical dinosaurs from China as added attractions to his luxury Palmer Coolum Resort north of the Queensland capital Brisbane.

Australian National University political scientist Norm Abjorensen described the original UAP as a divided and "hastily cobbled together alliance" during a period of economic crisis that met an end analogous to the Titanic hitting an iceberg.

"It's really the only time in our political history where a major political party ... has just about totally imploded," Abjorensen said. "I don't think Clive's inspiration is all that bright."

But bankrolled by Palmer's fortune, the revamped party could win a few seats, he said.

Palmer said an application for the party's registration has been made to electoral authorities. Two Queensland state independent lawmakers are considering joining the party.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard declined to comment on Palmer's political bid other than to tell Australian Broadcasting Corp. the registration of the UAP was "a question for Mr. Palmer and the appropriate party registration processes."

Opposition leader Tony Abbott dismissed the prospect of Palmer splitting the conservative vote.

"The people of Australia are very savvy here and they are going to vote for the people who are serious; they are going to vote for the people who have done the work, who have put in the hard yards, and who can deliver competent, stable and trustworthy government," Abbott told reporters.

Palmer will not reveal his wealth. Forbes estimates he is worth $895 million while Australia's Business Review weekly last year estimated his fortune at almost $4 billion.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/australian-behind-titanic-plans-political-bid-060114997.html

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