Health Benefits of Nuts

Excellent Health Benefits of Nuts

By Ann Martin

Nuts can be a wonderful way of adding flavor and texture to our dishes. We may use slivered almonds as a garnish for string beans, blend a handful of cashews in our strawberry smoothies for extra creaminess or add a sprinkling of fresh pine nuts to our salads for a healthy crunch.

Although nuts are great for baking, they also have excellent health benefits. According to medical professionals, nuts which contain unsaturated fatty acids and other nutrients are great for snacking. It is thought that eating nuts as part of a balanced meal can help lower your cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease.

Instead of reaching for a bag or chips or a chocolate bar the next time you're hungry, try incorporating the following four nuts into your diet and reap the health rewards.

Walnuts. Walnuts are considered great for heart protection. They contain potassium, calcium, magnesium, vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids, which promote cardiovascular wellness. It is believed that the vitamin E found in walnuts can help prevent plaque from building up in the arteries. The beneficial omega-3 fatty acids they contain are said to help lower blood pressure and high cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. Enjoy walnuts alone or chop up a few and add them to your green salad.

Almonds. Even though almonds are high in fat, the fat they contain is monounsaturated, the same kind of healthy fats found in olive oil. They're also rich in calcium, folic acid, vitamin E and fiber. Research indicates that these rock stars of the nut world contain properties that may lower cholesterol, reduce your risk for diabetes, improve cardiovascular health and positively affect your waistline. Blend a handful of walnuts in your next morning smoothie and savor the creamy goodness!

Cashews. In recent years, cashews have become a staple in the raw food community. Loaded with health benefits, they are prized for their versatility, lending themselves well to raw creams, milks and spreads. Cashews are high in magnesium, which helps promote strong bones and is thought to boost brain power. They're also a great source of antioxidants, those beneficial nutrients and enzymes which help prevent and repair damage to your body's tissues. Cashew cream can be used as a salad dressing, a dip for crudit?s or as a spread for a vegetable wrap. Enjoy a dollop today!

Macadamia nuts. In the geography of the nut world, macadamia have a Beverly Hills address. These nuts can be pricy and are often found in premium desserts. But the nutritional benefits of macadamia nuts far outweighs their price. They contain selenium, which is considered a powerful antioxidant for cell repair. Macadamia nuts are rich in calcium and iron and a great source of fiber. If you're trying to watch your cholesterol, here's some good news: macadamia nuts are cholesterol free, so eat up! As people strive to cut back on unhealthy snacking, nuts are a great substitute to munch on throughout the day, especially during that dreaded 3:00 p.m. hour when you're bored at work and your appetite goes into overdrive. As you're snacking on a handful of walnuts or cashews, remember that you're not only satisfying a food craving, you're doing something wonderful for your body.

About the Author

Ann Martin is a contributing writer for Dinnerware Center, which specializes in dinnerware, the Noritake Collection and flatware sets such as Oneida Juilliard. She also contributes articles to nutrition and wellness sites. When Ann is not testing out a new recipe or cookbook, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her family.

Help with a diet for my cholesterrol?

im 12 and my cholesterol is 211!!!!!! help me design a diet for the next three months b4 i go back to the doctor. my cholesteral is suppose to be 160-170

Read the nutrion facts on everything (its usually on the back of the product). If it has cholesterol, don't eat it. Food does not always come with the nutriton facts so don't eat it if you don't know whats in it. here are some high cholesterol foods: Food Chicken Liver Chicken Giblets Eggs Beef Liver Turkey Giblets Butter Pork Liver Sausage Shrimp Sardines Heavy Cream Veal Pork Ribs Lamb Turkey Neck Pork Shoulder Beef Chuck Lard Crab Duck Meat Salmon Fast Food Cake Chocolate Milk Top 5 Super Foods to lower cholesterol Oat for Soluble Fiber Oatmeal and oat bran are rich in soluble fiber, a type of fiber which lowers the bad Low Density Lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol without lowering the good High Density Lipoprotein or HDL cholesterol. In 1997, the FDA authorized a heart disease risk reduction health claim for beta-glucan soluble fiber from oat products. Food products containing oat bran and rolled oats, such as oatmeal, and whole oat flour can bear this health claim. How much do you need? Five to 10 grams of soluble fiber a day decreases LDL cholesterol by about 5 percent. Some studies showed that this amount can lower cholesterol by as much as 23 percent. One bowl of oatmeal contains about 3 grams of soluble fiber. Include other soluble-fiber-rich foods such as psyllium, apples, kidney beans, pears and barley. For more details, read Oats for High Cholesterol Fish for Omega 3 Fatty Acids Fish is a good source of protein and omega 3 fatty acids - which has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol. In particular, omega 3 fatty acids are noted for its triglyceride-lowering power. How much do you need? In 2002, the American Heart Association recommended eating at least 2 servings of fish a week, particularly fatty fish such as mackerel, salmon, sardines, trout and herring. If you have high triglyceride levels, AHA recommends 2 to 4 g of EPA and DHA (two specific types of omega 3 oil) as supplements under your doctor's care. For more details, read Fish and your Heart Nuts for Healthy Fats Nuts rich in fiber, phytonutrients and antioxidants such as Vitamin E and selenium. These tasty snacks are also high in plant sterols and fat - but mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which have all been shown to lower the bad LDL cholesterol. How much do you need? In 2003, the FDA recognized the benefits of nuts and their role in heart disease prevention by approving a health claim for seven kinds of nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans, some pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts). Limit your intake to ~ 1.5 ounces a day, as nuts are high in calories. The best way to reap the health benefits of nuts is to eat them in replacement of foods that are high in saturated fats such as meat products. For more details, read Health Benefits of Nuts Foods fortifed with Plant Sterols Plant sterols or stanols are powerful substances naturally found in plant to have the ability to block cholesterol absorption. Studies showed that eating two servings of sterols-fortified foods daily result in a 10 to 15 percent drop in LDL cholesterol levels. How much do you need? The National Cholesterol Education Program recommends that people who have high cholesterol eat 2 grams of plant sterols or stanols a day. You can find plant sterols in fortified foods such as margarine spread, orange juice, salad dressings, functional cookies etc. Most sterols-fortified foods contain at least 1 gram of plant sterols per serving. Please read the portion size and usage direction on the labels for details. It is important to note that plant sterols are not for everyone. The AHA recommends it only for people with high levels of LDL cholesterol. Soy Soy products are great substitutes for animal products. In 1999, the FDA recognized the health benefits of soy and heart disease by approving a soy health claim. However, due to conflicting results from a large-scale review performed by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the AHA Nutrition Committee no longer recommends eating soy to lower cholesterol. Should you avoid soy then? A simple answer is No. Although soy may not lower cholesterol to the extent we previously thought it could, the US Agency review showed that it can still lower bad LDL cholesterol by 3 percent. Since soy products contain high levels of polyunsaturated fats, fiber, vitamins, and minerals and low levels of saturated fat, AHA does consider soy products a healthy replacement for meats and other foods high in saturated fat and total fat.

Health Benefits of Nuts And Seeds

Cooking Spoon ….

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