Mark Cornelison, Lexington Herald-Leader/MCT  NEW YORK (Reuters
Health) - Substituting almonds for less healthy foods could help
dieters stick to a calorie-controlled diet, and lower their
cholesterol at the same time, says a new study.  "Nuts, and in
this case almonds, shouldn't be on the 'do not eat' list, they
can be effectively incorporated in a weight loss plan, with the
caveat that they have to be portion controlled," said Dr. Gary
Foster, who led the study at Temple University in Philadelphia.
The new study, published in the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition and supported by the Almond Board of California,
involved 123 generally healthy but obese people who followed a
calorie-controlled diet for 18 months. Women ate 1,200-1,500
calories per day, while men ate 1,500-1,800.  Half the people,
assigned at random by researchers, were given two 28-gram
packages of almonds (about 24 almonds per package) to eat each
day. That works out to about 350 calories' worth. The other half
agreed to avoid nuts alt