If you are interested in eating nuts to improve your health, look up each one to see what vitamins or minerals it will supply and how many you should eat daily. It's important that nuts are 'really well chewed' and if you do that it will not effect pockets that may have formed in the bowel due to something like diverticular disease.
Discover how walnuts, almonds and other nuts can help lower cholesterol when eaten as part of a balanced diet. Eating nuts as part of a healthy diet may be good for the heart. Nuts contain unsaturated fatty acids and other nutrients. And they're a great snack food. They are inexpensive, easy to store and easy to pack when you're on the go.
One drawback to nuts is that some may be high in calories. So it's important to limit portions. But choosing nuts instead of a less healthy snack may help you stick to a heart-healthy diet.
How might nuts help your heart?
Research has found that frequently eating nuts lowers levels of inflammation related to heart disease and diabetes.
Regularly eating a healthy diet that includes nuts may:
Improve artery health.
Reduce inflammation related to heart disease.
Decrease the risk of blood clots, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes.
Lower the risk of high blood pressure.
Lower the risk of early death due to heart disease.
Lower unhealthy cholesterol levels, specifically triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein, also called LDL or "bad" cholesterol.
What might make nuts heart healthy?
Nuts are a good source of protein. Most nuts also contain at least some of these heart-healthy substances:
Unsaturated fats. It's not entirely clear why, but it's thought that the "good" fats in nuts — both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats — lower bad cholesterol levels.
Omega-3 fatty acids. Many nuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s are healthy fatty acids. They may reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Fibre. All nuts contain fibre, which helps lower cholesterol. Fibre also makes you feel full, so you eat less.
Plant sterols. Some nuts contain plant sterols, a substance that can help lower cholesterol. Plant sterols are often added to products such as margarine and orange juice for additional health benefits, but sterols occur naturally in nuts.
L-arginine. Nuts are also a source of L-arginine. Some research suggests that L-arginine may lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol and improve overall blood vessel health.
Discover how walnuts, almonds and other nuts can help lower cholesterol when eaten as part of a balanced diet.
What's a healthy serving of nuts?
Nuts contain fat. Even though most of it is healthy fat, the calories can still add up. That's why you should eat nuts in moderation.
Adults should aim to eat about 4 to 6 servings of unsalted nuts a week as part of a healthy diet. Serving recommendations for kids vary, depending on age. Ask your paediatrician how many servings of nuts are OK for your child.
Choose raw or dry-roasted nuts rather than nuts cooked in oil. One serving is a small handful (1.5 ounces) of whole nuts or 2 tablespoons of nut butter.
Does it matter what kind of nuts you eat?
Most nuts appear to be generally healthy. But some may have more heart-healthy nutrients than others. For example, walnuts contain high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.
Almonds, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts and pecans also appear to be quite heart healthy. So are peanuts — though they are technically not a nut, but a legume, like beans.
It's best to choose unsalted or unsweetened nuts. Adding salt or sugar to nuts may cancel out their heart-healthy benefits.
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jeanjeannie50
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Great post Jean, I will read in detail later, I started eating a few walnuts broken up on my cereal about a year ago after reading they were good for heart health and could maybe reduce AF episodes. I’ve done this daily since and I am convinced my health is better for it and I also think it did protect me from AF somewhat up until my ablation last December but not enough evidence to be sure. They are also a great satisfying snack in small amounts.
As usual with AF it’s hard to pinpoint one thing that makes a difference but sometimes if you think you’re doing good then that can reduce the anxiety that can trigger us off so it is good.
If you do an Internet search for
“walnuts and atrial fibrillation”
there’s lots of studies suggesting it can reduce AF.
Thank you Jean for such a helpful post. I think I must have been a squirrel in a previous lifetime as I have always loved nuts! It’s really good to see all the benefits written out and I hadn’t read about the benefits to heart before. Thank you
great post Jean - just to add - almonds should be soaked before eating as they are not easily metabolized.
Caution about Brazil nuts which are good source of Selenium BUT limit to 1 or 2 only.
I find it hard to eat nuts on their own so add to my breakfast mix of muesli, seeds & fruits, soaked overnight in apple juice. I then have no problems.
I think it’s a great idea to share nutritional info.
One thing I picked up a few days ago that I didn’t know was you shouldn’t eat blueberries alongside bananas (which I always did) as bananas contain an enzyme which neutralizes the polyphenols (anti-inflammatory & brain ageing) in blueberries.
The only few times in the last 19 years that I've eaten blueberries my AF kicked off. Not had them now for many years. Interesting that they shouldn't be eaten with bananas.
My problem is not dipping into my nuts, cashew, walnuts, flaked almonds, peanuts and seeds, sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, which live in a tub mixed together on the top shelf.Even if I eat too many, my arms are being exercised to reach them!!
l have always enjoyed nuts, even though they are high in calories. Good source of protein. Very nutritious and keep a stable blood sugar. The only ones l limit are pine nuts, and cashew nuts as they are high in vitamin K and l take warfarin, so have to be careful. Almonds are good for indigestion. Good post thank you. A good reminder to me, as l have just committed a grave sin and eaten an ice/cream, sitting in the sun!
I had an ice cream today too! It was hot out (not that I'm moaning). Visited a National trust property Coleton Fishacre, wow beautiful house and a stunning valley garden in South Devon.
Yes, almonds are excellent at reducing indigestion.
Yes there is sugar in there but also masses of other nutrients including potassium, we should be looking at food as a whole rather than demonising one element of it .
Thanks for info....I eat a handful of nuts every day....mostly almonds....my 'go to' snack 👍 and if anyone is interested, a German supermarket beginning with A ( not sure if rules allow name lol)...they sell a peanut butter that is pure...100% peanuts...no additives according to the jar....not too expensive and delicious ....obvious calories but a nice treat now and then xx
💯💯💯agree with this post , nuts and seeds are such an easy win for health in general.
The doctors kitchen podcast always talks about the importance of having 30gm of mixed nuts and seeds each day .
He is a practising GP who was diagnosed with Afib a few years ago and so began his journey to change his lifestyle in order to lessen his burden . Well worth a listen.
I add sunflower and pumpkin seeds to my muesli, eat nuts as a snack between meals. I bought Dr Rupy Aujla's The Doctors Kitchen cook book but really don't like a whole plate of one taste. If anyone can advise me on a dish that's really tasty from that book, just to start off with, I'd be grateful.
Yes the vegan magnums are very good, do you get 'swedish glace' down there? It's vegan ice cream and so nice. Though oddly I'm reminded of chocolate covered custard creams (3 of your 5 a day!). Somewhat off Jeans nuts post.
I make my own roasted nuts. I grease a baking tray with a little toasted sesame oil and put it in the oven so it spreads evenly. Then I add a thick layer of cashews ,hazelnuts and whole skinned almonds sprinkle with garam masala and mix well. 20mins in the oven at 180° and another mix halfway through. Doing your own means you can control the amount of oil used and use a good one rather than the cheap veg oil commercial nuts will use.
Also lookup the benefits of pumpkin seeds and organic 100% cacao powder, also packed with heart healthy nutrients (magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc etc). I add small handful of pumpkin seeds and half tea spoon of cacao powder with cereal. I also eat a celery stick in the morning, take a look at the videos on Nitric Oxide, you’ll get detailed explanations. Hope that helps.
It's a minefield trying to buy nuts and seeds online as the source country also needs to be taken onto account. This is because of the toxic heavy metal pollution in the agricultural products of countries like China, and which supply a large percentage of this market. It becomes very expensive very quickly sourcing these food items in organic form free from pesticides and toxic heavy metals.
Very true. I have recently been reading up on this and the toxic substances that are carcinogenic. That’s obviously why organic nuts are so expensive to buy and difficult to obtain. There is less and less of purity in this world today and man is destroying himself.
The trouble I find with nuts is that at times they can taste a bit musty, especially walnuts. The best nuts come in their shell and as you say are not grown in polluted land or sprayed with pesticides. Just looked and my almonds come from USA, cashew nuts India, brazil nuts from Bolivia. They are all marked as Fairtrade products, not that says too much about how they are grown. The' organic' nuts, in the store where I buy mine, just don't taste a nice as the ones I buy.
Yes, do you fancy Chinese sourced organic nuts? Not me! Perhaps those "organic" nuts you tasted were from China? H&B source a lot of their nuts from China and have just stopped selling their "organic" pumpkin seeds from China, while you can still buy their non-organic version, also sourced from China.🤔 Go figure!
As for almonds, California has the largest areas of monoculture of this crop in the world. No wonder yours and mine are from USA. 🤔
I have noticed though that, with a bit of effort on the websites of the better bulk suppliers of "organic" nuts and seeds, you can find the country of origin of each product and the eat-by date.
My recent decision to swap to eating seeds rather than the more expensive nuts has been the catalyst into discovering the toxic heavy metal pollution in the soils of many countries that supply both nuts and seeds. I am very late in discovering this after a lifetime of heavy nut consumption. Bummer.
It's definitely a pain in the arse though when you can't trust anything you eat or drink.
You're so right in your saying we can't trust anything as being healthy these days. If I were young again I'd plant my own nut and also fruit trees, veg too. When I retired I said I was going to have a vegetable garden, did it for a few years then decided it was easier to buy and grassed the area over. You don't need that much when you live on your own.
Yes, but there's not enough grassy space🌼✔️or vegetable beds🍅✔️ in my high-rise northeast facing flat for my liking. A bit of a bummer that, and living alone too. 🤔
Yes 👍, nuts plus nuts plus nuts plus... seeds, in many ways since I'm on a strict Vegan diet and low, very low salt. 😀 It helped survive AF and my cholesterol reading has improved lots.
Interesting as despite being on a similar diet, I have been encouraged to take statins - guess it’s a box ticking thing because of my age and I hope I sha’n’t have to continue with them for much longer!
I eat a handful of mixed nuts almost every day. They’re generally high in protein and contain loads of good stuff - and they’re filling. I add dark choc drops to them for a special treat.
I was totally devastated when he was found dead, such a shock. You could just tell what a natural and lovely person he was. I'd prayed he'd be found alive. Even by his death he taught us all something once more - not to go walking in extremely hot weather.
I'm afraid I could never stick to just having two squares of chocolate and would have to eat the lot in one day. That's me, so sadly I can't buy any.
Yes, but can’t see why he didn’t change his surname given the association with Oswald! I’m sure you could just have the two squares if you decided on it but I was never one to eat too much of anything at one go! I just like to appreciate things in small amounts.
I put my nut mixture in a grinder then add them to my cereal. That way they are easier to digest. I also always skin almonds as I read that the skin can be toxic.
I just read in the national news today (US) that in a study, nuts don't add to weight gain for those dieting, and in fact -- if eaten in moderate amounts -- prove to help in weight loss as they stave off hunger. Yet another good reason to stock up on them.
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