Eating nuts could help lower cholesterol levels, study finds

A study has found that eating a small 67g bag of nuts each day could lower a person’s cholesterol levels by as much as 7.4 per cent.

The US Loma Linda University team said its research indicated that nuts help prevent the absorption of cholesterol.

A total of 583 people were involved in the study, eating 67g of nuts a day on average over a period of three to eight weeks.

Following the trial, they were found to have improved cholesterol levels and reduced amounts of triglyceride, a type of blood fat that has been linked to heart disease.

The new study – published in the Archives of Internal Medicine – pooled data from 25 nut consumption trials conducted in seven countries.

Ellen Mason, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, suggested that the diet of the average UK resident does not currently contain enough nuts.

She said: “What we eat is extremely important to our overall health, and adding nuts back into our diet in place of saturated fats could help to improve cholesterol levels for many people.”