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Linda Harvey

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Re: Whole Food Farmacy !
12/19/2007 10:54:47 PM
Pecans
 

Pecans have it all. Besides being one of the most elegant, versatile and rich-tasting nuts you can put on your plate, they offer up a package of health benefits that's very impressive. In fact, the new 2005 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommend eating 4 to 5 servings of nuts each week.  
The Mayo Clinic conducted a study which found that all nuts are nutrient dense and naturally cholesterol free. Not only are nuts cholesterol free but, studies have suggested that eating pecans may help reduce LDL cholesterol levels, leading to a reduction in the risk of heart attacks and coronary artery disease. The serving size for nuts is about one ounce, which equals about 15 pecan halves. Pecans are a great staple for vegetarians, because one serving of pecans can take the place of the protein found in an ounce of meat.  

Pecans are also a rich source of oleic acid, the same type of fatty acid found in olive oil. Researchers from Northwestern University in Chicago recently found in laboratory tests that oleic acid has the ability to suppress the activity of a gene in cells thought to trigger breast cancer. While this area of study is still in its early stages, the researchers say it could eventually translate into a recommendation to eat more foods rich in oleic acid, like pecans and olive oil.  

Researchers from Loma Linda University in California and New Mexico State University in Las Cruces , New Mexico , have confirmed that when pecans are part of the daily diet, levels of "bad" cholesterol in the blood drop. Pecans get their cholesterol-lowering ability from both the type of fat they contain and the presence of beta-sitosterol, a natural cholesterol-lowering compound. Eating 1 ½ ounces of pecans a day, when its part of a heart-healthy diet, can reduce the risk of heart disease.  Moreover, a study published in the June 2004 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that pecans, hazelnuts, and walnuts contained the highest antioxidant levels of all nuts tested.  

The same natural compound that gives pecans its cholesterol-lowering power, has also been shown to be effective in treating the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland in men. About two ounces of pecans provides a dose of beta-sitosterol found to be effective. In addition, a recent laboratory study from Purdue University found that gamma-tocopherol, the type of vitamin E found in pecans, has the ability to kill prostate cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone.  Last but not least, despite the widely held belief that "nuts are fattening," several population studies have found that as nut consumption increased, body fat actually decreased.  

Pecans, along with their antioxidant packed relatives, walnuts and hazelnuts, can be found in many of your favorite Wholefood Farmacy foods including Phi Plus, Cornaborealis and Corn of Plenty.

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Linda Harvey

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Re: Whole Food Farmacy !
12/24/2007 7:13:51 PM
Eating 3 or more servings of fruit per day may lower your risk of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), the primary cause of vision loss in older adults, by 36%, compared to persons who consume less than 1.5 servings of fruit daily.

In this study, which involved over 70,000 women and over 40,000 men, researchers evaluated the effect of consumption of fruits; vegetables; the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E; and carotenoids on the development of early ARMD or neovascular ARM, a more severe form of the illness associated with vision loss.

Food intake information was collected periodically for up to 18 years for women and 12 years for men. While, surprisingly, intakes of vegetables, antioxidant vitamins and carotenoids were not strongly related to incidence of either form of ARM, fruit intake was definitely protective against the severe form of this vision-destroying disease.

Three servings of fruit may sound like a lot to eat each day, but The Wholefood Farmacy foods offer you a convenient way to you reach this goal.

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Linda Harvey

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Re: Whole Food Farmacy !
12/25/2007 10:22:29 PM

Nuts add flavor and crunch to any meal and they’re chock-full of vitamins, minerals and healthy unsaturated fats. Need more reasons to love nuts? Read on, then break out that holiday nutcracker and get crackin’.

Almonds

A June 2006 study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry showed an ounce of almonds provides as many flavonoids—compounds that fight free radicals and reduce inflammation—as a 1⁄2-cup serving of broccoli or a cup of green tea. In 24 almonds

(1 oz.): 160 calories; 14 g fat (1 g sat, 9 g mono); 3 g fiber; vitamin E (35% daily value); magnesium (20% dv).

Walnuts

Walnuts contain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3 fat linked with reduced risk of heart disease, improved glucose control and, most recently, stronger bones. In a study of 23 overweight people published earlier this year in Nutrition Journal, increasing intake of ALA via walnuts and flaxseed oil decreased the rate of bone breakdown. In 14 walnut halves (1 oz.): 190 calories; 18 g fat (1.5 g sat, 2.5 g mono); 2 g fiber; manganese (50% dv); copper (20% dv).

Pecans

Last year in Nutrition Research, researchers from Loma Linda University reported that pecans contribute significant amounts of gamma-tocopherol, the major form of vitamin E in U.S. diets. Pecans also provide notable amounts of zinc, a mineral most often found in animal-based foods. In 20 pecan halves (1 oz.): 200 calories; 20 g fat (2 g sat, 12 g mono); 3 g fiber; manganese (60% dv); copper (15% dv); vitamin E (6% dv).

Pistachios

Research presented earlier this year at an Experimental Biology conference suggests that lutein, an antioxidant in pistachios, helps protect "bad" LDL cholesterol from oxidization by free radicals. Oxidized LDL contributes to the development of plaque in arteries. In 49 pistachios (1 oz.): 160 calories; 13 g fat (1.5 g sat, 7 g mono); 3 g fiber; copper & vitamin B6 (20% dv); manganese (18% dv); phosphorus & thiamin (15% dv).

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Donna Zuehl

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Re: Whole Food Farmacy !
12/25/2007 10:52:26 PM

Hi Linda,

I looked for the cloudy apple juice in my local grocery stores and they did not have any. I do eat raw apples several times a week.

DonnaZ

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Donna Zuehl

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Re: Whole Food Farmacy !
12/25/2007 10:54:44 PM

Hi Linda,

Thank you for the informative article on nuts. I love nuts, but they have increased in price, at least in the midwest. The walnuts were $6.49 a pound at my grocery store. I don't know how that compares to other areas of the country.

DonnaZ

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