California, Jan. 28 -- : In a study published online this week in the journal Nutrients, researchers discovered that eating a variety of tree nuts, including almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, and walnuts, improved tryptophan metabolism in overweight and obese people. In particular, serotonin, a neurotransmitter, and cardioprotective tryptophan metabolites both increased.
In a previous study, researchers at UCLA demonstrated that consuming 1.5 ounces of tree nuts per day (versus pretzels) during 24 weeks of weight loss and weight maintenance, resulted in weight loss, increased satiety, decreased diastolic blood pressure and decreased heart rate. Tryptophan (found in tree nuts) has been indi...