Eating peanuts, chickpeas may lower cholesterol, improve BP
Washington, June 5: Eating a diet that includes peanuts, chickpeas, apples and a little amount of plant sterols may lower cholesterol and improve blood pressure, new research has found.
The diet is based on the "Portfolio Diet," which is a plant-based dietary pattern that emphasises a portfolio of four proven cholesterol-lowering foods.
"Previous clinical trials and observational studies have found strong evidence that a plant-based diet can improve heart health," said one of the study authors, Hana Kahleova, Director of Clinical Research at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington DC.
"This study demonstrates that certain plant foods are especially effective for lowering cholesterol and boosting our overall cardiovascular health," Kahleova added.
The diet that the researchers found beneficial included 42 grams of nuts (tree nuts or peanuts), 50 grams of plant protein from soy products or dietary pulses (beans, peas, chickpeas, or lentils), 20 grams of viscous soluble fiber from oats, barley, psyllium, eggplant, okra, apples, oranges, or berries and two grams of plant sterols from supplements or plant-sterol enriched products per day.
The findings, published in the journal Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, are based on a new meta-analysis, a statistical procedure that integrates the results of several independent studies.
The results suggest that a diet that includes plant protein, fiber, nuts and plant sterols improves several markers for cardiovascular disease risk including reductions in cholesterol level and improvements in blood pressure.
Following the dietary pattern reduced LDL (low-density lipoprotein), the "bad" cholesterol by 17 per cent, while also reducing total cholesterol, triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and C-reactive protein.
It also helped reduce 10-year coronary heart disease risk by 13 per cent, the study said.
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What is the secret deal? PM Modi questions Rahul's sudden silence on Ambani, Adani
Asks "how much black money have you taken?"
Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi questioned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's recent silence on the issue of industrialists Ambani and Adani during a rally in Telangana on Wednesday. He suggested that this sudden change in rhetoric may imply a "secret deal" between the Congress and these industrialists.
Modi pointed out that Rahul Gandhi had been consistently targeting Ambani and Adani over the past five years, particularly focusing on their alleged connections with the government. However, Modi noted a shift in Rahul's discourse since the announcement of the elections, wherein he has ceased to criticize these industrialists.
“You would have seen that the Congress shahzada, for the last five years, has been repeating this. Since his Rafale row was grounded, he started repeating this – first, he spoke of five industrialists, and then Ambani-Adani, Ambani-Adani, Ambani-Adani. But even since elections were announced, they have stopped abusing the two. I want to ask the public of Telangana, the shahzada should declare – how much have they taken from Ambani-Adani? How much of black money has been taken? Have tempos full of cash reached the Congress? What’s the deal that’s been struck? Why did you stop abusing Ambani-Adani overnight? Surely something is amiss,” he said in Telangana.
In response, Congress's Praveen Chakravarty suggested that Modi's remarks indicate his discomfort with Rahul Gandhi's continued exposure of the alleged nexus between the government and Ambani-Ambani, which, according to Chakravarty, prioritizes the interests of these industrialists over those of the common people and the nation.
During the rally, Modi also criticized the Congress party's approach, contrasting it with the BJP's "Nation First" policy. He accused the Congress and similar parties of following a "family first" policy, wherein the interests of a select few take precedence over national priorities. Modi further cited the example of former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, alleging that the Congress neglected and disrespected him due to its family-centric approach.
Regarding the ongoing elections, Modi claimed that after the third phase of voting, the INDI alliance's momentum had diminished, referring to it as the "third fuse" that had burst.
