Nuts to You! Eating Nuts as Part of a Healthy Diet

The holidays are here and the nuts are out. I am not talking about the Christmas shoppers, though. Instead, I am talking about nuts like walnuts and pecans. You will probably find all kinds of nuts -- whole or shelled -- in the produce section of your grocery store, especially during the holiday season. Nuts, however, should be included in your diet year-round.

Nuts are high in monounsaturated fat, which is the fat that lowers the bad LDL cholesterol, while not adversely affecting the good HDL cholesterol. Of course, not all nuts are created equal. Following is a list of some of the more popular nuts with the percentage of monounsaturated fat one-ounce of each contains. Naturally, the higher the percentage, the better the nut is for you.

Macadamia: 79% with 200 calories per ounce
Hazelnuts (unblanched): 78% with 180 calories per ounce
Pistachios: 68% with 157 calories per ounce
Almonds (unblanched): 65% with 160 calories per ounce
Pecans: 62% with 200 calories per ounce
Cashews: 59% with 160 calories per ounce
Peanuts: 50% with 170 calories per ounce
Pine nuts: 38% with 160 calories per ounce
Brazil nuts (unblanched): 35% with 190 calories per ounce
Walnuts: 23% with 190 calories per ounce [Note: There is no appreciable difference between English walnuts or black walnuts.]

As you can tell from the list above, nuts do contain a decent amount of monounsaturated fat. They also contain quite a few calories per ounce. Nevertheless, just a small handful of nuts per day, which roughly equals an ounce, can go a long way in promoting good health. [Note: If you are really concerned about your caloric intake, replace other high-calorie foods with nuts.]

The small handful of nuts that you eat each day with supply you with a lot of fiber. Fiber is not only good for your heart, it can also help you feel full. You will, therefore, eat less. Always good news for dieters. Nuts also contain decent amounts of potassium, which is good for heart-health. In addition, the Mayo Clinic notes that many nuts are also high in omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 helps to prevent irregular heart rhythms that can lead to a heart attack. They also note that nuts are one of the best sources of omega-3 found in the plant kingdom, which is good to know if you do not eat that much fish from which most of us get omega-3. As if all of this were not enough, nuts also contain vitamin E and some -- specifically cashews and almonds -- have a large amount of zinc, which promotes cell growth. Nuts are also low in sodium. You just need to avoid the salted varieties.

As I have mentioned, you can just eat a small handful of nuts each day to reap the health benefits that they provide. You can also sprinkle a few of your favorite nuts on a salad. (I like English walnuts.) In addition, almonds are popular choices to cook with vegetables, such as green beans. Toasted pine nuts are traditionally added to pesto. However you decide to proceed, do proceed to include more nuts in your diet.

References:

Mayo Clinic: Heart disease. Nuts and your heart: Eating nuts for heart health.

Rogers, Jean. The Healing Foods Cookbook. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, Inc., 1991.

University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County: Food Reflections. Alice Henneman, MS, RD, Extension Educator: NUTS for Nutrition.