With spring less than a week away and summer right around the corner, tons of people are thinking about ways to get healthy. For some people this just involves increasing their workout routines, while for others it involves an entire lifestyle change where the diet changes and exercise begins. If you are in the latter category and looking to change your diet to include healthier foods you aren’t alone. Thousands of people are doing this everyday and there are hundreds of options and ideas out there for you. One of the food items you will see on a lot of the weight loss programs and websites is nuts. Below are just a few quick facts about the different types of nuts and their weight loss benefits:
1. Fighting Disease – Did you know that Harvard research has shown that eating two servings of nuts per day can help fight cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer? Different types of nuts provide different levels of disease fighting powers, but some of the healthiest ones you can eat are almonds, pistachios, walnuts, cashews and pecans. How you incorporate them into your diet is up to you, whether you take a bit to snack on at work in the afternoon or throw them in your bowl of oatmeal at the beginning of the day. Get creative with the ways you use the different types of nuts and you’ll be fighting disease before you know it!
2. Protein and Fiber – One of the things dieticians love the most about recommending more nuts in a person’s diet is the amount of protein and fiber they have. For instance, just a single ounce of macadamia nuts has about 2.3 grams of fiber, and the same amount of raw peanuts contains 7.3 grams of protein and 2.4 grams of fiber. There’s a myth that protein rich diets have to contain meat, but that simply isn’t the case. Different types of nuts have different amounts of proteins in them that can absolutely fill you up at the end of a meal.
3. Versatility – One of the things that people are most surprised about when they start using different types of nuts on a regular basis is their versatility. From almond butter to peanut flour, there are tons of ways to use these awesome ingredients. In fact, nuts are one of the key ingredients to a vegan diet because of how versatile they are. Cashews can actually be ground up and mixed with a few other key ingredients to form a cheesy consistency and taste. Craving pasta? Try macaroni and cashew cheese next time to see what you think! Not only will you be trying something new, but you’ll be reaping the cashew nut benefits as well!
There are too many types of nuts to talk about each one of them here, but the next time you are in a market with a bulk foods section, head over and take a look at the variety of nuts and seeds available to purchase. Find one you aren’t familiar with and take a few home to see what you can find to do with them. You may be surprised to find a brand new recipe waiting to be discovered!
