A few lifestyle changes can make a big difference for your heart. If you are looking to change your diet to have a healthier heart but keep getting sabotaged by snacking nuts are the answer. Maybe you can still snack, improve your diet, and have a healthier heart all at the same time.
From almonds to pistachios, nuts are tasty munchies to boost your health.
Research shows that munching on smaller meals throughout the day can help you shed pounds and live healthier—but only if you choose wisely. Most Americans eat at least two snacks a day, but those snacks are often high in added sugars and saturated fats. “Nuts are a compact way of getting a lot of nutrition,” says Marietta Amatangelo, RD, an integrative nutritionist at George Washington University’s Center for Integrative Medicine in Washington, DC. “They provide vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, protein, and fiber.”
These nutritional gems are generally high in calories, but as long as you don’t go wild and crazy with your portions, you do not need to worry about packing on extra pounds. “Because they’re filling, nuts can actually keep you on your diet,” says Amatangelo. Snacking on nuts instead of chips, candy, or some other unhealthy snack can be a simple way to get your health on track. Learn how eating nuts lowers inflammation and improves your heart health. Plus, chefs weigh in on fun ways to cook with them.
6 nuts that make a great snack and are heart-healthy!
Hazelnuts
Also known as filberts, hazelnuts play a starring role in desserts, pastries, and chocolates. Nonetheless, they still earn the right to be classified as a health food. A 1-ounce serving provides almost a quarter of the recommended daily value of copper—which is important for making red blood cells and myelin, the substance that surrounds nerve fibers. One serving also provides a whopping 86 percent of the recommended daily value of manganese, a trace mineral that helps keep skin, bones, and cartilage healthy, along with being crucial to the process of blood clotting.
Go nuts: Use hazelnuts to give your Romanesco sauce some staying power, says Abby Fammartino, a natural food chef in Portland, Oregon. Blend skinned and toasted hazelnuts, roasted peppers, sautéed onions, toasted bread, olive oil, salt, and pepper until chunky, then serve over roasted veggies, chicken, pasta, or fish.
Walnuts
These modest nuts are heavy hitters when it comes to all-important omega-3s—just a quarter cup provides 90 percent of the recommended daily intake of these essential fatty acids, which help reduce inflammation. Walnuts also help lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and keep weight, especially around your waistline, under control. A recent study from the University of Oslo also found walnuts to be among the highest plant-based sources of antioxidants associated with preventing heart disease.
Go nuts: Sprinkle walnuts over a salad or toss with roasted root vegetables. Better yet, start your day on a healthy note: Make a morning porridge by blending walnuts, apples, and pears in a food processor, says Adina Niemerow, holistic chef and author of Supercleanse (Collins Living, 2008), and, if you like, spice it up with currants, ginger, or figs.
Pine nuts
Still not convinced a measly handful of nuts will satisfy your cravings and give your heart a healthy boost? Go for an ounce of pine nuts. They’re so tiny—you get about 167 of them per ounce—that you’ll get more in a single serving than you will with other nuts. Plus, pine nuts give you almost 20 percent of your daily recommended vitamin K, which is essential for helping your blood clot. Pine nuts also are excellent sources of PNLA, a fatty acid that helps with everything from blood pressure, to weight, to inflammation.
Go nuts: While your Italian nonna may add pignoli to her pesto, Fammartino suggests another use: swap pine nuts for ricotta cheese in your lasagna. Soak pine nuts for an hour, blend in a food processor, mix with a little lemon juice, salt, and olive oil, and then layer between lasagna noodles and tomato sauce.
Bonus: you get a dairy-free, low-fat dish.
Pistachios
Packed with thiamin—essential for neural function and carbohydrate metabolism—these flavorful green nuts provide as much potassium in a single serving as a banana. Studies have also found that pistachios help lower cholesterol, slow the absorption of carbohydrates, and can even reduce stress.
Go nuts: Add a little something sweet to your next salad. Fammartino tosses shelled pistachios with sugar, toasts them in the oven, and then sprinkles them on top of the greens. If you prefer savory, Niemerow suggests you use them instead of chickpeas in your hummus. Just blend the raw nuts with lemon, ground sesame seeds, tahini, parsley, and garlic.
Macadamia
Macadamia nuts get a bad rap for their high caloric content. Although they do have about 200 calories per ounce, they contain good fats—mostly monounsaturated. According to studies on the health benefits of macadamia nuts, adding these nuts to your diet does not pack on the pounds, even if you eat a few more calories. Macadamia nuts also lower cholesterol, reducing your heart disease risk. They also contain a good amount of calcium, which will keep your teeth and bones healthy.
Go nuts: Fammartino uses macadamias to dress up fish in a crunchy and rich-tasting crust. Dip white fish in coconut milk, roll in crushed macadamias, and bake.
Almonds
A veritable powerhouse of muscle-building protein and satiating fiber, almonds are your best friend if you are looking for simple health solutions. It’s one of the most commonly recommended nuts because of its nutrient density and ability to lower several different risk factors for heart disease. One study from King’s College in London, found replacing unhealthy snacks with almonds improved endothelial function, necessary for blood fluidity and flow.
Go nuts: Make your next sandwich an AB&J. Almond butter is easy to make—just blend almonds in a food processor and add a pinch of salt, says Fammartino. Spread it on whole grain bread, or add a dollop to fruit smoothies for extra creaminess.
References:
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Manganese-HealthProfessional/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8468443/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9861571/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10173088/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7266688/
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