Get cracking: The health benefits of nuts
Nuts are highly nutritious foods but are often overlooked in a healthy diet because of the belief that they are ‘fattening.’ Research, however, shows there are a number of health benefits to be gained from eating nuts regularly and the broad range of nutrients they contain makes them highly beneficial. Including nuts regularly as part of a healthy way of eating has been shown to offer protection against heart disease, lower blood cholesterol levels and may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Intriguingly, eating nuts in moderation can also have benefits for weight control.
Nuts are so healthy because they are naturally rich in a wide range of vitamins and minerals, fibre, protein, healthy fats, plant sterols and antioxidants, which together contribute to good health. Nuts are also a great source of the healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which help lower blood cholesterol levels, particularly when they replace saturated fat in the diet.
Macadamias, cashews, almonds, pistachios and pecans are rich in monounsaturated fat, while walnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts and Brazil nuts are rich in polyunsaturated fat. Walnuts are also an excellent source of the polyunsaturated omega-3 fat, which has benefits for lowering blood pressure and reducing inflammation in the body. (Peanuts are not actually a nut but a legume but are often used in the same way as nuts.)
All nuts contain fibre, with hazelnuts, pistachios and almonds topping the list. While it is well known that fibre is needed for a healthy digestive system, it also has many other important functions in the body. For instance, fibre-rich foods travel more slowly through the digestive system and this effect can help to keep you feeling full. This is one of the reasons why nuts are a great filling snack between meals.
Other health benefits of nuts
Nuts are particularly rich in vitamin E and folate (folic acid), with some varieties providing around 10 per cent of the recommended dietary intake (RDI) for folate and up to 20 per cent of the RDI for vitamin E in a 30g serve. Almonds and hazelnuts are the best sources of vitamin E, while peanuts, hazelnuts, cashews, pistachios and walnuts provide useful amounts of folate.
Nuts also contain the minerals magnesium, zinc and selenium. A 30g serving of brazil nuts, almonds and cashews provides more than 75 per cent of the RDI for magnesium, while a serve of cashews, pine nuts or brazil nuts provides more than 10 per cent of the RDI for zinc. Just one Brazil nut provides the whole day’s RDI for selenium! (Selenium is a micronutrient which is said to be helpful in preventing conditions ranging from heart disease to cancer.)
Nuts contain a range of ‘plant chemicals’ such as flavonoids, luteolin and resveratrol (in peanuts), which have all been shown to have antioxidant properties. Antioxidants help protect the body from a range of lifestyle-related diseases.
Nuts contain plant sterols (those substances found in margarine designed to lower cholesterol), which improve the levels of cholesterol in the blood by reducing cholesterol absorption from the intestines. Pistachios, pine nuts, almonds and macadamias are the best nut sources.
The downside
Allergies aside, the potential downsides of nuts is that because they are so tasty they are easy to overeat. Eating 30 grams of nuts a day has been shown to be effective in reducing the risk of heart disease by 30 to 50 per cent and lowering cholesterol levels by 10 per cent so that’s what you should be aiming for.
Because each nut provides a different mix of nutrients, alternate the varieties of nuts you usually buy, or try a mixed nut combination.
And when I recommend eating nuts for their health benefits, don’t forget that I mainly mean the unsalted varieties. Raw, unsalted nuts are naturally low in sodium, with a 30g serving containing less than one per cent of the RDI, whereas the same quantity of salted nuts contains around 15 per cent of your sodium RDI. Most of us consume more sodium than we need, so always best stick to unsalted nuts. But if it was a choice of salted nuts and a bar of chocolate, go for the salted nuts!
Simply follow these tips to enjoy more nuts in your daily diet:
- Nut and dried-fruit mixes are a great snack on the run.
- Make your own muesli at home using rolled oats, dried fruits and chopped nuts of your choice.
- Team nut spread such as cashew or almond spread with banana on crackers.
- Mix crushed macadamias or walnuts with wholemeal breadcrumbs, herbs, olives and onion for a tasty stuffing.
- Sprinkle crushed walnuts through a tuna or roasted vegetable salad.
- Mix crushed cashews, almonds and pecans to make a topping for live natural yoghurt.
- Add chopped pistachios onto a piece of fish grilled with lemon juice and garlic.
- Sprinkle roasted pine nuts on pasta dishes.