Cashews shrink fat cells

To help keep fat gain at bay, reach for cashews or sunflower seeds. They’re rich in copper, an essential mineral that researchers at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University suggest may be linked to the healthy development of the body’s fat cells. When investigators studied fat-storing cells (adipocytes) in mice, they found that those deprived of an adequate amount of copper had more fatty molecules (lipids) and grew to twice the size of healthy fat cells. They suspect a lack of copper impacts how cells process fat and sugar, contributing to higher fat stores.