Macadamia Nuts Proposed as OK for Heart Health

We’ve been hearing for some time that nuts are, on the whole, heart-healthy. But some ‘fatty’ nuts are usually left out of the list – macadamia, cashew, and Brazil nuts. And, of course, they’re the ones with the most pleasing taste. The Hershey Company, owners of Mauna Loa Macadamia, have now put out a press release with scientific information on the qualities of macadamia nuts that are quite convincing to someone willing to be easily convinced.

The 3 ‘fatty’ nuts aren’t included in the FDA’s list of healthy nuts, as the cut-off point is 4 grams of saturated fat per 50 grams of nuts. Macadamias have 6 grams, cashews 4.6 grams, and Brazils 7.6 grams of saturated fat per 50 grams of nuts, and therefore don’t qualify.

In spite of the above classification, the Hershey Company decided to study the possible benefits of macadamia nuts in people with slightly raised cholesterol levels. Their findings were published in the Journal of Nutrition. Participants took a macadamia diet – a heart healthy diet plus 1.5 ounces of nuts – or a standard American diet for 5 weeks. They then switched to the opposite diet for a period of 5 weeks. The total fat was the same in both diets. The heart-healthy diet with macadamia nuts reduced total cholesterol (by 9.4%), LDL -cholesterol (by 8.9%) and triglyceride levels compared with the standard American diet. The researchers say that the degree of reduction in total- and LDL -cholesterol was greater than would be expected by just the healthy fats in the diet alone – indicating that there is something else in the nuts that helps lower cholesterol. Whatever. I think it’s an OK reason to scoff a few macadamia nuts from time to time, even if the manufacturers were the ones supplying the research . . .