Why You Should Add Nuts to Your Diet

Many people with busy lifestyles are often looking for ways to eat healthy while on the go or dealing with challenging schedules. Having healthy snacks available between meal times is a great strategy to keep hunger at bay and avoid drops in blood sugar and energy.  If you're looking for a nutritious, quick snack, nuts (raw, organic and in moderation) are a near perfect option. With healthy protein, fats, fiber, plant sterols and many vitamins and minerals, nuts pack a powerful nutritional punch, all wrapped up in a tiny bite-sized package. They also provide numerous health benefits, as a study involving more than 13,000 people, published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition reported:

Those who ate nuts gained numerous benefits compared to non-nut eaters, including:

·       Decreased body mass index and waist circumference

·       Lower systolic blood pressure

·       Lower weight

·       Less likelihood of having two risk factors for metabolic syndrome: high blood pressure and low HDL (good) cholesterol (for nut consumers)

·       Less likelihood of having four risk factors for metabolic syndrome: abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high fasting glucose and a lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome (for tree nut consumers)

Not a bad deal for something that fits in the palm of your hand, right? It's likely that nuts impact your heart health in numerous ways. For instance, many (walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, almonds, cashews and peanuts) contain the amino acid l-arginine, which offers multiple vascular benefits to people with heart disease, or those who have increased risk for heart disease due to multiple cardiac risk factors. L-arginine is a key nutrient in promoting efficient blood flow and overall cardiovascular function. L-arginine is considered one of the "semi-essential" amino acids—meaning, often your body can't produce it in sufficient quantities, so you must obtain adequate quantities from your diet. Other research has further proven that nuts, such as almonds, confer superior heart health benefits to complex carbs like whole-wheat muffins; a study in the journal Circulation found people with abnormally high level of lipids, such as cholesterol, in their blood, were able to significantly reduce their risk factors for coronary heart disease by snacking on whole almonds. Those who snacked on whole-wheat muffins got no such benefit.

You can't really go wrong when choosing nuts to eat, as long as you pay attention to quality. Nuts that are organic and raw, not irradiated or pasteurized, are your healthiest choices. One exception is peanuts, which is a common allergen, and which are technically in the legume family. Along with being one of the most pesticide-laden foods you can eat, most peanuts are also contaminated with aflatoxin, a carcinogenic mold. Generally speaking, each type of nut will offer a slightly different mix of nutrients for your health. For instance:

·       Almonds: One of the healthiest aspects of almonds appears to be their skins, as they are rich in antioxidants including phenols, flavonoids and phenolic acids, which are typically associated with vegetables and fruits. As the Almond Board of California reported, a study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry even revealed that a one-ounce serving of almonds has a similar amount of total polyphenols as a cup of steamed broccoli or green tea.

·       Walnuts: Walnuts are good sources of plant-based omega-3 fats, natural phytosterols and antioxidants that are so powerful at free-radical scavenging that researchers called them "remarkable." Plus, walnuts may help reduce not only the risk of prostate cancer, but breast cancer as well.

·       Pecans: Pecans contain more than 19 vitamins and minerals, and research has shown they may help lower LDL cholesterol and promote healthy arteries.

·       Brazil Nuts: Brazil nuts are an excellent source of organic selenium, a powerful antioxidant-boosting mineral that may help prevent cancer.

Keep in mind though that you do need to be cautious with the quantity of nuts you eat, but this is not because they will make you "fat," as many believe. Instead, the reason for moderation is that almost all nuts are top heavy in omega-6 fats and can upset your omega-6/omega-3 ratio. Avoiding the less healthy fats such as corn, soy, safflower and vegetable oils, which are higher in unsaturated fats, will help allow you to still enjoy them without causing the ratio to become unbalanced. Overall, adding nuts as a daily part of your healthy diet will offer many benefits to your body and help keep you on track in achieving a better level of health.

In Health, 

Dr. Brad Niewierowski