If You are Nuts About Health, Try the Top 6 Healthiest Nuts

Yes they are high in fat, but it’s a good form of fat that when eaten in small quantities, these highly nutritious members of the World’s Healthiest Foods deliver not only delicious flavor, but also nutritional benefits that can help protect you against cardiovascular disease.

Walnuts - a great source of the healthy omega-3 essential fatty acids, which have been found to protect the heart, promote better cognitive function, and provide anti-inflammatory benefits for asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, eczema and psoriasis.

Walnuts also contain the antioxidant compound ellagic acid, which is known to fight cancer and support the immune system. But that’s not all–in a study in the August 2003 issue of Phytochemistry, researchers identified 16 polyphenols in walnuts, including three new tannins, with antioxidant activity so powerful they described it as “remarkable.”

Walnuts are incredibly healthy for the heart. A study in the April 2004 issue of Circulation found that when walnuts were substituted for about one-third of the calories supplied by olives and other monounsaturated fats in the Mediterranean diet:

• Total cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol were reduced
• The elasticity of the arteries increased by 64 percent
• Levels of vascular cell adhesion molecules, which play a major role in the development of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), were reduced

Almonds - Just a quarter cup of almonds contains nearly 25 percent of your needed daily value of the important nutrient magnesium, plus is rich in potassium, manganese, copper, the antioxidants vitamin E and selenium, and calcium. In fact, a quarter cup of almonds has almost as much calcium as a quarter cup of milk.

They’re also great for the colon. An animal study on the effects of almonds on colon cancer found that animals (which were exposed to a colon-cancer-causing agent) given whole almonds had fewer signs of colon cancer than animals given almond oil or no almonds. Researchers suspect the benefit may be due to almonds’ high fiber content.

Plus, almonds are one of the best nuts for lowering cholesterol because 70 percent of the fat they contain is the healthy monounsaturated variety, which has been shown to help clear arteries.

Cashews - are lower in fat than most nuts, and 65 percent of this fat is unsaturated fatty acids. Of this, 90 percent is oleic acid, the heart-healthy fat found in olive oil.

Plus, cashews are rich in copper, magnesium, zinc, iron and biotin.

The largest cashews are found in the Amazon rain forest and are prized as the finest and most unusual cashews. They are hard to get and you can’t get them in the shell.

Why? It turns out that the cashew shell is toxic. However, that raised the question of what a cashew looks like in its shell. Again, we had no idea. When we found out, we knew more people should see it. Weird looking, isn’t it?

Pecans - are an excellent source of over 19 vitamins and minerals including vitamins E and A, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, several B vitamins and zinc.

Pecans can significantly help lower blood cholesterol when consumed as part of a heart-healthy diet.”

In fact, a study from New Mexico State University found that eating 3/4 cup of pecans a day may significantly lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and help to clear the arteries.

Brazil Nuts - These nuts are extremely nutrient-rich and contain protein, copper, niacin, magnesium, fiber, vitamin E and selenium. Selenium is a powerful antioxidant that works to neutralize dangerous free radicals. A study at the University of Illinois even found that the high amounts of selenium in Brazil nuts may help prevent breast cancer.

This nut is also very unique and weird, it does not grown on the tree in these little brown shells.  As a matter of fact it grows on trees in a bigger shell that is full of the little brown shell on brazil nuts.

Macadamia Nuts - These nuts are high in protein, fiber, healthy monounsaturated fats, potassium and magnesium. A study done at Hawaii University found that people who had added macadamia nuts to their diets for just one month had total cholesterol levels of 191, compared to 201 for those eating the typical American diet. The largest change was found in the LDL (bad) cholesterol.

A Little Goes a Long Way

The key with nuts is simply not to overeat them. They are highly concentrated in both their calories and their nutrients, so you only need a small handful at a time. Eating a variety of nuts appears to be the best way to get all the different benefits each nut has to offer.

A handful of almonds, sunflower seeds or walnuts, eaten as a healthy snack or used as a flavorful addition to a tossed green salad, will not make you fat.

The fat nuts and seeds contain is mostly polyunsaturated, although they also contain a little monounsaturated, and a very small amount of saturated fat.

The proper balance between these types of fats is important, and many people do not get enough of certain types, especially one type of polyunsaturated fat called omega-3.

Here is are a few videos about  cooking nuts!!

Guest Author:  http://www.edrugstore.md - a safe pharmacy to learn about consumer medical topics. Edrugstore.md has a comprehensive podcast section that includes breaking medical news by Dr. Daniel Williams, MD.

{ 1 comment }