An Australian study shows for patients with type 2 diabetes, a whole foods diet including walnuts can reduce LDL "bad" cholesterol by 10 percent. The findings, published in Diabetes Care, also show more than 65 percent of people with diabetes die from heart disease or stroke. Some 18.2 million Americans, or 6.3 percent of the population, have diabetes. The World Health Organization reports at least 171 million people worldwide have diabetes, a figure is likely to more than double by 2030, reaching 366 million. Linda Tapsell of the University of Wollongong says walnuts are rich in polyunsaturated fats, omega oils and vitamins. Tapsell says her research suggests including eight to 10 walnuts a day delivers the fats and fatty acids that might help the body address one of the problems associated with early stage type 2 diabetes -- insulin resistance -- which hinders absorption of glucose from the bloodstream into human cells.