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The Health Benefits of Nuts
The health benefits of nuts might surprise you, and you should consider making nuts a
regular part of your diet.
Many people don't eat nuts because they're high in calories and fat, but nuts are actually
quite good for you.
Nuts contain plenty of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and antioxidants. They're are a
good source of protein, they're high in fiber, and most of the fat in nuts is healthy unsaturated
fat.
Nuts promote cardiovascular health by reducing LDL (bad) cholesterol, oxidative stress and
inflammation. There's also evidence that nuts reduce the risk for some types of cancer, possibly
because they reduce oxidative stress and inflammation.
While nuts are calorie dense, studies have shown that people who eat nuts tend to be thinner
than people who don't. This is probably because the high fiber content of nuts helps keep blood
sugar levels steady and provides a feeling of fullness.
If you're still worried that regular nut consumption will add too many calories to your diet,
just make sure that you limit your intake to around 25-50 grams per day. Also, instead of simply
adding nuts to your diet, you could eat them as a replacement for foods that are high in saturated
fat or sugar.
You should avoid eating nuts that have been heavily processed, especially ones that are salted
or coated with flavorings. These additives can significantly reduce the nutritional value of the
nuts.
While all nuts have health benefits, here's a list of the healthiest nuts:
- Walnuts
- Almonds
- Pecans
- Cashews
- Hazelnuts
- Brazil nuts
- Pistachio nuts
- Macadamia nuts
In case you're wondering why peanuts are not listed as one of the healthiest nuts, peanuts (a
healthy food in their own right) are actually legumes, not nuts.
In conclusion, nuts are one of the healthier foods you can eat, and adding them to your diet
will give you a real nutritional boost.
Recommended Resource
Metabolic Cooking contains over 250 easy
to prepare healthy recipes that make it easy to create a healthy eating plan.
Read my review of Metabolic Cooking
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