Nuts & Health

Why are nuts so good for you?

Nuts contain healthy fats

Just because nuts are high in fat doesn’t mean they are unhealthy. The fat in nuts is predominantly healthy unsaturated fat, which plays an important role in heart health. Mono- and polyunsaturated fats, present in nuts as well as foods like seeds, avocados, olives, and fish, help improve cholesterol by reducing 'bad' (LDL) cholesterol while raising 'good' (HDL) cholesterol levels (1). This can, in turn, reduce the risk of heart disease. Eating too much saturated fat, on the other hand, can increase the risk of heart disease.

How to include Nuts in your diet

Here are some tasty ways to include nuts in your healthy eating plan:

• Enjoy pistachios as a pre-dinner snack
• Toss almonds or cashews into a stir-fry
• Roast chestnuts or pine nuts and mix them into a salad
• Chop walnuts and stir them into a dipping sauce
• Crumble pecans or walnuts over yogurt and fruit for a dessert
• Sprinkle roasted hazelnuts or slivered almonds on low-fat ice cream
• Top grilled fish with macadamia nuts or pistachios
• Add roasted pine nuts to your favourite pasta
• Make a delicious pesto by blending pistachios or macadamias with fresh herbs, parmesan, and a bit of olive oil

Where do we get out information from?

We get much of our information and research on nuts & health from Nuts for Life, a health education initiative from the Australian Tree nut Industry, Australia's leading independent authority on the nutrition and health benefits of tree nuts. Their mission is ‘to promote regular nut consumption by collating the latest evidence-based information, and information Australian about the positive impact regular nut consumption can have on their health.

The Nuts for Life website is regularly updated with current studies and findings regarding nuts and their impact on the human body. Please see the links below for more information.

Health authorities around the world recommend eating more plant foods for good health. This is because plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds provide protection against many of the common lifestyle-related issues seen today. The traditional Mediterranean way of eating, which includes plenty of plant foods, is considered to be one of the healthiest in the world! People of the Mediterranean, include nuts daily in the diet.

References

This information was provided by Nuts For Life. For further information on nuts and health, refer to nutsforlife.com.au.