Go Nuts!
Nutrition
One of nature’s top superfoods comes out of its shell
CHEW ON THIS
By Brian Wansink, Ph.D.
Almonds used to get all the accolades
in the nut family. Now research shows
that nuts of all kinds are some of
nature’s top sources of disease-fighting antioxidants, protein, fiber,
and mono- and polyunsaturated oils.
Need evidence? Data from the Uni-
versity of Toronto show that replacing
50 grams of carbs (about a muffin’s
worth) in your diet with 2. 5 ounces
of nuts each day helps control blood
glucose in people with type 2 diabe-
tes. Mice that ate a walnut-rich diet
(the equivalent of 2 ounces daily in
humans) were half as likely to develop
breast cancer as those that didn’t eat
nuts, according to another study. And
when researchers recently pooled the
results of 25 clinical trials, they found
that eating 2. 4 ounces of any kind of
nuts a day lowered “bad” LDL cho-
lesterol by up to 7 percent and total
cholesterol by up to 5 percent. Other
studies have shown that people who
eat several servings of nuts a week
slash their cardiovascular risks by up
to 74 percent, compared with those
who eat nuts less than once a week.
EAT-LESS RULE
December is as much about
grazing as gifts. One way to avoid
overeating at holiday gatherings
is to avoid putting more than two
different foods—one healthy, one
not so healthy—on your plate at
once. The first time through the
buffet line, you might put raw
broccoli and a chicken wing on
your plate. On the second pass, it
might be carrots and chips. Limiting yourself to two foods allows
you to indulge a little but keeps
you from piling on the junk.
166 calories per ounce
( 25 to 28 nuts)
Helps control diabetes
and reduces “bad” LDL
cholesterol.
What’s in a Nut?
Nuts are high in calories and
fat, but they offer some
significant health benefits.
185 calories
per ounce
( 14 nut halves)
Lowers breast
cancer risk
in animal studies.
165 calories per
ounce (about ¼ cup)
Lowers LDL cholesterol.
MACADAMIA NU TS
204 calories per ounce
( 10 to 12 nuts)
Lowers LDL cholesterol.
PECANS
196 calories per ounce
( 19 nut halves)
Lowers LDL cholesterol.
161 calories per
ounce ( 49 nuts)
May help reduce
lung cancer risk;
improves “good”
HDL cholesterol.
PIST
