A Handful Of Nuts
Regular readers of Fitness Mantra already know I am a huge fan of nuts and I personally consume about 2 servings of nuts a day – every single day. For folks like me, here comes some more validation … MSNBC reports that researchers have found that nuts are indeed a heart-healthy addition to our diets:
Spanish researchers found that adding nuts worked better than boosting the olive oil in a typical Mediterranean diet. Both regimens cut the heart risks known as metabolic syndrome in more people than a low-fat diet did. [MSNBC]
Test subjects who added nuts to their regular diet didn’t really lose weight overall, but did lose fat around their waist (the worst kind since our vital organs don’t like it when fat encroaches on their space). They also noticed better blood profiles (meaning better cholesterol and blood pressure numbers) after this experiment.
As with any food (but particularly with nuts since they are so energy-dense),moderation is key and the study cautions against adding nuts to a bad diet of western foods. But as part of a heart-healthy, Mediterranean Diet (olive oil, fruits, vegetables, fish), nuts will do nothing but good for our bodies.
You can can read up about almonds and walnuts that I have covered earlier and also offer suggestions about how you have incorporated nuts in your diet in the comments. By the way, here’s a fun fact: peanuts are not nuts at all, but are really legumes!
I may have already said something inane like “Go Nuts!” in one of my earlier posts, so I am not going to repeat it. But you get the idea … make nuts a healthful, crunchy part of your diet right away!
