Nuts are high protein, low in saturated fat and a cholesterol-free source of nutrition. If you are looking for a fast snack or to incorporate a little more nutrition into your favorite dishes, try sprinkling a few in salads and oatmeal for a healthy crunch.
“More and more research shows the positive impact of tree nut consumption on satiety and weight management, as well as a number of chronic diseases including heart disease and diabetes,” states Lindsay Allen, Ph.D., director of the USDA ARS Western Human Nutrition Research Center in the September 2008 issue of the Journal of Nutrition.
Epidemiologic studies show that consuming tree nuts (almonds, Brazils, cashews, hazelnuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, macadamias and walnuts) five or more times per week is associated with a reduced risk of developing both diabetes and heart disease. In one analysis, individuals who ate the most nuts had about a 35 percent reduced risk of coronary heart disease.
Almonds are the healthy show off within its nutty category. One serving of almonds or 24 nuts contain6 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, 1 gram of saturated fat, no sodium and six percent of calcium and 35 percent of the daily value of Vitamin E.
While the FDA qualified health claim for nuts and heart disease recommends 1.5 ounces of nuts per day, Allen said few people actually consume this amount on a daily basis.
According to Janet King, Ph.D., past chair of the 2005 USDA Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, “Many people consume as much as 25 percent of their total caloric intake from snacks. If we could replace snacks high in refined carbohydrates with just one-fourth to one-third cup of nuts per day we could have a positive impact on nutrient density and the risk of chronic disease.”
For more information, got to nuthealth.org.
Editor’s Note: Nuts are actually quite high in overall fat but low in the bad (saturated) fat.
We caution readers that a 1 ounce serving of nuts is relatively small, so it’s easy to overeat nuts.