Researcher Agnes Tey (left) and supervisor Dr Rachel Brown
are trying to find out how many hazelnuts are needed to
provide health benefits. Photo by Peter McIntosh.
Everyone knows nuts are good for you, but just how many
you need to get the health benefit is the basis of a University
of Otago study.
The study seeks to determine how many hazelnuts are required
to reduce markers of heart disease, such as inflamed blood
vessels, as well as cholesterol.
Human nutrition PhD student Agnes Tey had recruited more than
70 of the 100 subjects needed, but said she needed more men
to balance the study.
Apart from a control group not eating hazelnuts, participants
would be split in two groups, one eating 30g a day, another
60g a day, for three months.
Subjects must be clinically overweight and not on
cardiovascular medication.
Supervisor Dr Rachel Brown said Miss Tey was "following the
nut story" with her study, which was her second concerning
the health benefits of hazelnuts.
The first, for Miss Tey's master's degree, examined whether
the nut's health benefits were compromised by eating them
ground rather than whole.
Miss Tey said she was focusing on hazelnuts because they were
little studied compared with other nuts.
Hazelnut production in New Zealand had increased in recent
years, as the nuts became more popular, she said.
eileen.goodwin@odt.co.nz
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