The Health Benefits of Adding Nuts to Your Diet

Summary

Nuts are often overlooked as the healthiest food source in many diets. This article discusses the different types of nuts and their health benefits, and suggests ways to add nuts to the variety of foods.

Description

Nuts come in all shapes, sizes and tastes, but no matter which ones you choose to eat, nuts pack a powerful nutritional punch in any diet. Nuts provide important antioxidant benefits, as well protecting the body from heart disease. They are also a great diet weapon to use when trying to lower cholesterol. Adding nuts to your daily diet is an effective way to boost your overall health and is easy to do.

Pecans have the highest amount of antioxidants and phytochemicals, mainly because of their high vitamin E content. The antioxidant effect in pecans may help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and cancer. By inhibiting the oxidation of blood lipids, pecans can protect damage from occurring to the heart. They can even help protect our brains from Alzheimer’s. Pecans are the great plan as a snack, or can be added to yogurt or used as a salad topping. A daily handful of pecans is all that’s needed to gain the health benefits.

Walnuts contain high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids, iron and vitamin B. They are also high in protein, which make them an especially important addition to a vegetarian diet. The Omega-3’s in walnuts are necessary for good brain function and a healthy immune system. Walnuts also help the body fight cancers and cardiovascular disease. Adding a small handful of walnuts to a salad is one easy way to get walnuts in your diet.

For optimal health, nutritionists advise eating no more than an ounce or two of nuts each day. And make sure you buy them "in the raw," because roasting adds lots of sodium and extra (usually unhealthy) fat. In addition, you may want to consider adding sunflower seeds, flax seeds, or pumpkin seeds to your diet, since they contain many of the same nutritional benefits as nuts