Are you a health nut?
During these cold months I love sitting by the fire with a bowl of mixed nuts and a nutcracker.
Almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, chestnuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios, pine nuts, and walnuts have different levels of nutrients and antioxidants, but they all can have amazing health benefits. Here’s a look at the health benefits of nuts.
Health Benefits Of Nuts
The award for the healthiest nut has to go to the almond. Almonds are packed with antioxidants and nutrients, and have many anti-aging benefits. Almond nuts and almond milk are great ways to get many essential anti-aging nutrients. They’re a good source of calcium, and vitamin E. Most of the antioxidants are found in the brown skin that coats the nut. That means blanched almonds (almonds without the skin) are missing out on important nutrients.
Almonds are a good source of copper. Copper helps the body regulate proper hair and skin colouring. This means copper helps fight greys and age spots!
Magnesium is another nutrient in almonds. There are many benefits to magnesium including the promotion of bone strength, nerve and muscle function, and blood sugar control. It keeps you feeling strong, and slows the physical effects of aging. While many nuts have these same properties, almonds have the best overall ratio.
Nuts are low in sugar and high in fibre. They can be great for digestion. They are also great for your metabolism. They help keep your metabolism working properly, helping your body properly use insulin, fats, and sugars.
Nuts could be a good addition to the diet of someone with type 2 diabetes. The nutrients found in nuts have shown to improve lipid counts, and oxidative stress. It may also help lower the damaging sugar spikes from carb consumption.
The health benefits of nuts that make them a good food for diabetics, also make them a good for heart health. One study found an 8.3% reduction in heart disease in patients who ate a serving of nuts every week. Nuts have a great anti-inflammatory property to them. Walnuts are especially high in heart-healthy antioxidants.
A diet rich in nuts has shown to improve overall cognitive function in older women. The study was only conducted on women, so there would have to be more research to see if there are any cognitive benefits for men. However, this is a promising sign.
Tree nuts have an inverted association with obesity. The risk of obesity is 7% lower in people who regularly eat tree nuts. Combining this with its effects on diabetes and heart disease, it is clear that nuts can be beneficial for a large group of the population.
Though nuts have been shown to lower your risk of obesity, they can still be a double-edged sword. They are packed with nutrients, and can be great for your health, but they can still negatively affect your weight. On a low-carb diet, nuts can be a great addition because of the high fat levels. The fat will provide energy, and reduce hunger. Nuts are a much better snack choice than a highly processed sugar-filled alternative. However, if you’re ingesting too many nuts, especially if you’re not on a low-carb diet, you will see weight gain. It doesn’t matter how healthy the source of the calories, if your calorie intake far outweighs your output, you will gain weight.
One way to help avoid eating too many nuts is by shelling the nuts yourself. This slows down the eating process, keeping you busy for a longer period of time, and spaces out your snacking. This gives your body more time to digest the nuts, and tell your brain that it is full. The health benefits of nuts make this a good snack to have in your diet.
