I know it may not seem like nuts are healthy if the only person you ever saw eating them was that chubby guy at the end of the bar at Happy Hour, but trust me nuts are good for you. Some are better than others though so let's take a look. According to leading nutritionists today, you can eat almonds, peanuts, walnuts, and even Brazil Nuts without increasing your risk of a heart attack from clogging your arteries. The truth is that eating nuts will actually make you healthier and unless you just eat them by the bowlful they will not make you overweight. According to studies at Penn State, it seems the more nuts you eat the lower the risk of heart disease. The difference is the type of fats that are in nuts.
Polyunsaturates and monounsaturates which are found in nuts are good for you plus nuts are high in protein, vitamins, phytonutrients, and fiber. Eating nuts as a regular part of your diet will help to lower bad cholesterol and blood fats while keeping good cholesterol high and cutting the risk of heart attacks. In the average nuts one ounce has 4 to 8 grams of protein with 14 grams of fat, the majority of which is unsaturated. This is about the same amount of protein is about 8 grams.
Nuts are also digested very slowly which helps keep you from being hungry and helps control blood sugar. A tablespoon of peanut butter or an ounce of nuts five days a week reduced the risk of developing adult-onset diabetes by 20 to 30 percent in a 2002 study by Dr. Frank Hu of Harvard. A recent Australian study suggested walnuts can lower diabetes risk. Another Harvard study showed that men who ate nuts five times a week were significantly less prone to gallstones. And, several studies have shown that people who eat nuts tend to be slimmer, not fatter, and that eating nuts helps people stick to their diets and lose more weight, according to a letter from Hu to the Food and Drug Administration.
The FDA has even allowed the companies packaging nuts place heart healthy labels on peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans, and hazelnuts. Nuts like cashews, macadamias, Brazil nuts, and some others are not given the same treatment due to what the FDA considers too much saturated fat. Another great thing about nuts is that they are easy to add them into your diet. You can put them on salads, in stir-fry, or just eat them raw.
They are great for parties and football game get togethers. You just have to eat them in moderation if you are watching calories since one ounce of almonds for example, can have 180 calories. You only need one ounce a day, five days a week to get the health benefits so the idea is to replace another food with the nuts. So, what are you waiting for go buy a variety of nuts and get a great platter to put them on for your next party.
.
By: Gregg Hall
