Tree Nuts Are A Strong Health Food
Most nuts’ nutritional makeup is an ideal ratio of the basic food building blocks.
My favorite nuts are almonds, macadamia, walnuts, pecans and pistachios, as they provide the highest amount of healthy fat while being on the lower end in terms of carbs and protein.
Raw macadamia nuts contain high amounts of vitamin B1, magnesium, and manganese, pecans boast more than 19 different vitamins and minerals that studies suggest can help you lower LDL cholesterol and promote healthy arteries.
Just one serving of macadamia nuts net 58 percent of what you need in manganese and 23 percent of the recommended daily value of thiamin. Moreover, about 60% of the fatty acid in macadamia is the monounsaturated fat oleic acid. This is about the level found in olives well known for their health benefits.
Walnuts are also known for their health-boosting properties, which includes anti-cancer activity (slashing breast cancer risk in mice by 50%, and reducing prostate cancer growth by 30-40%), and improved reproductive health in men.
Just 1-quarter cup of walnuts also provides more than 100% of the daily recommended value of plant-based omega-3 fats, along with high amounts of copper, manganese, molybdenum, and biotin.
It is thought that up to 90% of the antioxidants in walnuts are found in the skin, making it one of the healthiest parts to consume. The skin can be bitter, which is why most people tend to peel it off, but by doing so it means removing some of the healthiest parts.
And my favorite, almonds; in addition to their cholesterol-lowering effects, almonds’ ability to reduce heart disease risk may also be partly due to the antioxidant action of the Vitamin E found in the almonds, as well as to the LDL-lowering effect of almonds’ monounsaturated fats. (LDL is the form of cholesterol that has been linked to atherosclerosis and heart disease). When almonds are substituted for more traditional fats in human feeding trials, LDL cholesterol can be reduced from 8 to 12%.
In addition to healthy fats and Vitamin E, a quarter-cup of almonds contains 62 mg of magnesium + 162 mg of potassium.
Let we forget pistachios, while having a lopsided fat/protein/carb ratio, landing them toward the bottom of the list of healthy nuts, still have documented health benefits, particularly for diabetics.
Compared to other nuts, pistachios are high in lutein, beta-carotene, and gamma-tocopherol (Vitamin E), and eating one or 2 servings of pistachios a day has been shown to lower oxidized LDL cholesterol in people with elevated levels.
Eat healthy, Be healthy.
Paul Ebeling,
HeffX-LTN
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