Nutrition Nugget: Nuts
Bite-Size Reads for your Health and Your Waistline
Nuts come in all shapes and sizes…and not just your friends (bah dum shhh!) Just kidding. No but for real, nuts can be salted, roasted, raw, or coated in a variety of spices and flavors. We often hear nuts are good for us #healthyfat. But really, do we know what nuts do for our health? And how much is too much? This is one I hear all the time, “I’m not losing weight because I’m eating too many nuts.” So how do you know if you’re eating them too much or not enough? And do the different varieties make a difference? Read on for all your nut needs!
Overall, nuts are great for us. As with everything we eat, pay attention to your food journal or tracker for how they make you feel, how they fit into the greater scheme of your nutrition and everything else going on in life (sleep, stress, etc.). I would bet it’s not the nuts posing a challenge to your weight loss journey.
You’re probably not eating too many. A serving size of nuts is around ¼–⅓ cup or 1 oz. Think of it as a small handful. This is probably more than you think it is. It’s about 24 almonds, 35 peanuts, 18 cashews, 14 walnut halves, 49 pistachios! To reap the health rewards of nuts, we want to eat about 5 oz per week (or 1 oz per day, 5 days per week). Where the nut’s bad reputation comes from is the fact that they are calorically dense, where each ounce can carry around 160–200 calories. However, what I always like to say is it’s not the number of calories, but what the calories are made of that matters. Think quality over quantity when it comes to calories.
Looking at the quality of those calorie-dense nuts, they pack a punch! Nuts give us fiber, healthful fat, a little bit of protein, magnesium, zinc, Vitamins E and B6, folic acid and health supporting phytochemicals (plant-based compounds). While this may sound like a bunch of random words to you, I will break it all down:
Nuts come from plants which means they are cholesterol-free (and very friendly for all of my vegan followers!). Nuts are 80–90% monounsaturated fat, which helps maintain good cholesterol and lower bad cholesterol. These types of fats from nuts have a better impact on health than saturated fats, which are found in red meat, for example.
Does it matter what kind of nuts? In simple terms, eat what you like! I prefer walnuts and almonds and I’m a total sucker for an all-natural peanut butter. No matter what your nut of choice is, choose unsalted and raw; most of us don’t need the extra salt and depending on how they’re roasted, the high heat can damage the quality of the fat. Similarly with all nut butters, pay attention that the only ingredient in that butter is the nut, and not any added sweeteners.
The other nutritional benefits of nuts include health supporting phytochemicals — biologically active plant chemicals that act like antioxidants in the body and prevent coronary heart disease, as well as an amino acid known as arginine, which protects the inner lining of our arterial walls, making our arteries more pliable and less susceptible to arterial buildup.
Overall, no matter what shape or size, nuts can be a super-nutritional choice, remembering a proper serving is about 1oz and we want raw, unsalted varieties. What I always like to say is, if it’s the nuts you’re eating standing between you and your health goals, you’re already in a good place! Keep perspective and don’t be so hard on yourself. Enjoy the nuts in your life!
