University of Hawaii
Office of the Vice President
For University Relations
Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
(808) 956-6106 Phone
(808) 956-9701 Facsimile
FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Cheryl Ernst, (808) 956-5941
May 3, 1995 |
Calorie Info
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MACADAMIA NUTS: University Study Finds It's OK
To Indulge
Macadamia nuts may be high in fat, but they needn't be a dietary
no-no for the cholesterol conscious, according to University of
Hawaii research presented during an American Heart Association
scientific conference in San Antonio, Texas.
"Macadamia nuts have a bad reputation for having a lot
of fat, but it turns out the fats don't impact cholesterol"
comments University of Hawaii Professor of Medicine, J. David
Curb, principal investigator of the federally-funded research
project.
The Diamond Head Nutrition Research Study, named for the location
of Kapiolani Community College campus where study volunteers dine
during the three-month investigation, compared three diets: a
typical American diet containing 37 percent of calories from fat,
a similar diet with the fat calories derived from macadamia nuts,
and the American Heart Association's "prudent diet"
(30 percent of the calories from fat.) All meals were prepared
and eaten in the college cafeteria. Volunteers - 30 men and women
age 18-59 - ate each of the three diets for four weeks. Calories
were adjusted to maintain constant weight levels; menus contained
common local foods.
Blood lipid-analysis indicates cholesterol levels on the macadamia
nut diet were similar to the low-fat diet and lower than the typical
American diet. The macadamia nut diet produced lower triglyceride
levels than either of the other diets.
The results echo findings of a preliminary study in which volunteers
ate a diet containing large quantities of ground macadamia nuts
for one month. Despite an increase in the proportion of fat in
their diets, volunteers showed no significant change in weight
or cholesterol levels. No negative side effects from eating the
macadamia nuts were observed.
Macadamia nuts, like olive oil, are hign oleic acid, a monounsaturated
fatty acid believed to be beneficial in cutting cholesterol, Dr.
Curb observes. The nuts are the only food to also contain significant
amounts of palmitoleic acid, another monounsaturated fatty acid.
A long-term study is needed, but results to date are heartening
both for guilt-plagued consumers who have a taste for nuts and
for macadamia nut growers selling to a health conscious market,
Curb says.
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