That's a Lot of Nuts

Is that a lot of nuts? That amount would last me a week. Everyone knows that nuts are very caloric, so surely that is the last thing one needs? Are nuts healthy? The Washington Post comments:

THIS STUDY analyzed data on 118,962 men and women who had never had cancer, heart disease or a stroke. Over a span of nearly 30 years, 27,429 of them died. Those who ate a one-ounce serving of nuts — roughly, a small handful — seven or more times a week were 20 percent less likely to have died for any reason than those who never ate nuts. Even those who ate nuts less than once a week had a 7 percent reduction in risk. Consuming nuts at least five times a week corresponded to a 29 percent drop in mortality risk for heart disease, a 24 percent decline for respiratory disease and an 11 percent drop for cancer.

While only 40% of Americans eat nuts everyday, this one addition to your diet could add substantially to your health. Not convinced yet? What do nuts do for your longevity? 

No food is perfect and nuts are no different. They are high in calories, and the kind of fat in the nut is not always the best kind. This is why I avoid walnuts as walnuts are high in polyunsaturated fats that I wish to avoid. I eat almonds, macadamia nuts, and the occasional hazelnut. 

But nuts being good for you does not mean that you can buy one of those round containers of Planter's fried nuts and eat them at one sitting! I would never ... well, lets just say that this is not a good idea! While I am not afraid of salt, I doubt that too much is good for you. Nor is eating that many nuts at once good for you. But surprisingly, while nuts are packed with calories, their use in moderation, or even slightly more than that, seems to actually cause weight loss. 

Replacing one of your current snacks with nuts might be a good idea. Or you could add nuts to your repertory of cooking choices. 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Pecans

The dish on the right is quite good as we have eaten similar dishes in the past. Here is another dish that we have not tried. 

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Parmesan and Pine Nuts 

If I was going to try this recipe, I would increase the nuts and reduce the cheese. Google is your friend and they don't do evil, or so they claim; there are a huge number of healthy nut recipes available on the internet. I was going to say uncounted recipes, but Google counts the number of entries for you. There are 852,000 entries when you google nuts and brussels sprouts.

No, spreading Nutella on crackers doesn't count as a recipe. 

				So that means that everyone should eat nuts, right? No it doesn't. When I mentioned that I was writing about nuts to the beloved editor of this blog, Pam Dewey, she mentioned that nuts did not work for her and caused digestive issues. Everybody is different. I have a problem with Chia seeds. I won't say what my problem was, but my family preferred that I be somewhere else if I ate Chia seeds, and I had a number of embarrassing public displays of digestive distress until I realized what was causing it. So because of this common issue with nuts and seeds, be careful, and gradually add nuts to your diet and see what happens. You may or may not tolerate them.

So your action plan for this week is to add nuts to recipes that involve vegetables. Anything that increases your vegetable intake is good. And also add some nuts as a snack. As you may remember from last week, I add nuts to my yogurt, making my own blend of fruit, yogurt, and nuts. 

Try nuts and see if they work for you.