Fitness Mantra : A Health and Fitness Blog

This question about serving sizes (especially for almonds) is probably one of the most frequently asked one that bring users to FitnessMantra and although this is answered in parts in the comments section of my Almonds post, I figured I would address it directly in this QnA post so it’s easier for people to find the answer.

QnA #2: What Is The Serving Size For Almonds, Walnuts And Other Nuts?

Typically, the serving size for nuts is 1 oz and you can’t go wrong if you restrict yourself to this amount for a variety of healthful nuts, chief among which are almonds and walnuts.

In the case of almonds, this amounts to about 20-25 medium sized almonds whereas for walnuts, the quantity closely matches the size of one whole walnut shell. I have featured these two “powerhouse” nuts earlier and if you review their individual posts again (links: almonds, walnuts), you will notice that a typical serving size of 1 oz of these nuts will provide you with around 160-180 high-quality calories with between 4 and 6 g of protein and a sizable amount of good-fats (mostly mono-unsaturated fats). In addition almonds are a superb source of the anti-oxidant Vitamin E, while walnuts pack on heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and anti-oxidants like melatonin and ellagic acid.

Updated: NutNutrition has pictures of what an 1oz of nuts looks like for different varieties of nuts like almonds, walnuts, cashews and pistachios. Nothing like seeing it in pictures rather than words! (Disclosure: The NutNutrition site is sponsored by Planters Nuts so look out for Mr.Peanut!)

As always, when it comes to nuts the key is moderation: fats, whether good or not, are still fats - and fats are calorie-dense. Since you only know too well where excess calories go (between the last belt-buckle-hole and eternity!), do try to restrict yourself to about 1 oz and avoid the salted or oil-roasted variety which can really pack on sodium or additional unwanted calories.

Nuts should really form an essential part of your daily fitness-oriented diet - I can tell you it does in mine.

So just go nuts!

Technorati Tags: health, nutrition, serving size, almonds, walnuts, nuts

Fitness Mantra del.icio.us page Welcome to “FitnessMantra Weekend”, your once-a-week health news update. As always you can also stay updated with the latest in fitness news by subscribing separately to the Fitness Mantra del.icio.us feed.

Most certainly the big news of the week is the effect that simply packaging any food in a McDonald’s wrapper has on kids: they just seem to like it better! As we read about how McDonald’s marketing tricks tots’ taste buds, we can also learn about how even the youngest among us can be influenced by advertising and marketing by big firms.

In the study, when identical foods like hamburgers, french fries, carrots or milk were tested on 63 kids using both McDonald’s wrappers and plain packaging, the McDonald’s wrapped foods seemed to taste better for a majority of the kids (as high as 75%).

Study author Dr. Tom Robinson said the kids’ perception of taste was “physically altered by the branding.” The Stanford University researcher said it was remarkable how children so young were already so influenced by advertising.

Of course McDonald’s has promised to curb advertising to children and says it will serve fruit in its happy meals which the company says will now contain less fat and fewer calories. But the study can be an important find for parents trying to get their kids to eat nutritiously.

In what can be considered a follow-up article, Think like a marketer to get kids to eat healthy, tells us how we can use what we have learned from the study to our advantage. Most of the appeal created by McDonald’s is around making eating there a fun event for the whole family in a cheery and stress-free environment. Well, then isn’t it time we created such an atmosphere at home during mealtimes?

“We need to create that fun atmosphere at home — turn off television, sit at the table and eat, talk and have a good time.” There should be healthy food and a positive feeling around eating at the dinner table.

Another tip revolves around the high prevalence of children-targeted advertising on the TV. The solution? Why keep the TV out of sight, of course:

“The biggest vehicle for exposure [to unhealthful foods] is sitting right in the middle of the living room — and far too often also in the kitchen and bedroom,” says Ludwig, whose first rule is to the get the TV out of the kitchen.

Read both articles for the problem and (few possible) solutions to getting kids to eat more healthfully. If we cannot beat the folks at McDonald’s at their multi-billion dollar game, then maybe it’s time we joined them!

Here are the week’s top health and fitness stories:

Overeat? Hormone may be to blame: The hormone that tells us we are full also regulates our desire for certain foods, researchers said Thursday.
Obese kids miss the most school: Obese elementary schoolchildren miss a couple more school days on average than their normal-weight classmates, according to a study that says being fat is a better predictor for absenteeism than any other factor.
To Gain Muscle And Lose Fat, Drink Milk, Study Suggests: Part of an ongoing study into the impact of drinking milk after heavy weightlifting has found that milk helps exercisers burn more fat.
Americans see fat as normal as weights rise: study: Carrying a spare tire or two around the waist has become socially acceptable in the United States as the population’s waistlines have expanded, according to a study released on Tuesday.
Body fat ‘weighs up love choices’: People often choose partners with similar body fatness to their own, according to new research.
Diet food ‘may fuel obesity risk’: Diet foods for children may inadvertently lead to overeating and obesity, say researchers.
McDonald’s label tricks tots’ taste buds: Even carrots, milk and apple juice tasted better to the kids when they were wrapped in the familiar packaging of the Golden Arches.
A Link Between Bones and Obesity: No one suspected just how powerful a role the bones play in so fundamental an activity as regulating sugar.
Obesity ‘linked to birth defects’: Women who are obese when they conceive are more likely to have babies with birth defects than are mothers of normal weight, a US study suggests.