January 10/Liverpool/Daily Post -- Eating almonds could help prevent diabetes and heart disease, according to a study. The research found incorporating the nuts into diets may help treat type 2 diabetes, which accounts for 90-95% of all cases.

As well as combating the condition, linked to obesity and physical inactivity, it could tackle cardiovascular disease, the report published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition said.

Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases in the world, and sufferers have a shortage of insulin or a decreased ability to use the hormone that allows glucose (sugar) to enter cells and be converted to energy.

The study found consuming a diet rich in almonds may help improve insulin sensitivity and decrease cholesterol levels in those with prediabetes, a condition in which people have blood glucose levels higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as diabetes.

Researchers looked at the effects of consuming an almond-enriched diet on 65 adults with prediabetes (48 women and 17 men) with an average age in the mid-50s.

The participants were split up, and the group on the almond-enriched diet showed greater improvements in insulin sensitivity and clinically significant reductions in cholesterol compared with the nut-free group.

From the January 24, 2011, Prepared Foods E-dition