BIG Nutrition: Nuts Every Day
For participants in the Nutrition Challenge, the special challenge this week is to eat 1 ounce of nuts on 5 of 7 days.
Looking at the research, nuts deliver a lot of nutrients in a small amount of food, and they reduce your risk of dying from respiratory disease and diabetes by 50% and 40%, respectively, based upon a meta-analysis of 29 research studies. Further, just 1 ounce of nuts per day can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. The specific type of nuts in the analysis did show associations. For a reduced risk of:
- Coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease and mortality….eat peanuts and tree nuts
- Stroke….eat peanuts
- Cancer…..eat tree nuts (e.g., almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, cashews, hazelnuts)
No additional health benefits have been shown for eating more than 1 ounce of nuts per day, and because they are dense in calories, eating 1 ounce per day is likely a good approach.
Storing Nuts to Prevent Rancidity
- Place in sealed glass or plastic container
- Keep at room temperature for up to 3 months, or for longer storage, place in refrigerator or freezer
You can learn more about storing nuts here.
DIY
Here is a recipe to roast your own nuts and make a low carbohydrate granola with nuts.
Happy and healthful eating,
Donna G. Pertel, MEd, RD, LDN
Questions about how to pace your protein intake each day? Contact me at [email protected]