14 DAY TRIAL // Pecans should not be overlooked when someone decides to lead a healthy lifestyle and stick to a healthy diet, medical experts advise. A recent study conducted by scientists at the Loma Linda University (LLU) shows that pecans contain very potent antioxidant compounds which inhibit harmful oxidation of blood lipids and reduce the risk for heart disorders. The high-in-vitamin E content of pecans mostly accounts for the beneficial effects they have upon human health, noted the team.
Researcher Ella Haddad, DrPH, Associate Professor in the LLU Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health pointed out: "Plant foods, including pecans, are rich sources of phytochemicals that can have a unique effect on the body."
Antioxidant properties of plants are well-known. Antioxidant compounds in fruits and vegetables successfully fight against molecular oxidation by the free radicals. In our body an infinite number of chemical reactions take place every day. A part of the chemical changes in the cells that use oxygen give birth to free radicals, which are harmful for the cells and the organism. An excessive amount of free radicals interact with the DNA or parts of the other cells in the body and may damage them. But the antioxidants in fruits and vegetables counteract and neutralize these organic "enemies."
This is why natural foods rich in antioxidants and phytochemical compounds (which have the same antioxidant function in the body) can protect the cells and prevent serious diseases such as cancer (which is mostly caused by the damaged DNA) or heart disorders (that are caused by the oxidized cholesterol that blocks the arterial walls.)
As mentioned above, pecans' potency against unwanted oxidation within our bodies is given by its high content of vitamin E. All vitamins are excellent antioxidants, especially vitamin C and E, but pecans contain a particular type of vitamin E, medically known as gamma tocopherol. Dr. Haddad stated: "We found that eating pecans increased levels of gamma tocopherol concentrations in the blood and subsequently reduced a marker of lipid oxidation."
In the beginning of the study, researchers were worried about the fact that pecans also contain large amounts of unsaturated fats, known for their oxidative action. Therefore, if tocopherols in pecans prevent unhealthy cell oxidation, unsaturated fats in the same plant promote cell oxidation? Interestingly, results of the study showed that the unwanted oxidative action of unsaturated fats is inhibited by the antioxidant properties of particular forms of vitamin E in the same plant.
"We concluded that even though the pecan diet was high in unsaturated fats, which one may think would increase blood oxidation, that did not happen. We found the opposite result: the pecan diet showed reduced oxidation of blood lipids," wrote Dr. Haddad in the report published in the Journal of Nutrition.