
Healthy and Caloric
Nuts are a healthy food, right? At least I feel like I hear that all of the time. I remember when I first told my parents that they are healthy, all of a sudden our house was filled with them. Just bowls of nuts everywhere to grab whenever we passed. Unfortunately, it meant we ended up eating way more than recommended – while they contain loads of great nutrients, they are pretty high-calorie. That means you can gain weight pretty easily if you add a load of handfuls of nuts to your daily routine! So as with almost everything in nutrition – balance is key. And variety of course.
But so long as you aren't allergic, nuts can act as a great way for you to add healthy snacks to the daily menu.
But what are nuts anyway? And why are they considered healthy? And are all nuts equal? We break down the facts about nuts below.
What Are Nuts?
Nuts are actually considered a fruit which is composed of an inedible shell with an edible seed. Botanically there are some differences, and some nuts are not even really nuts at all (e.g. peanuts are considered legumes) but because of their nutritional content and other similar characteristics to other nuts, we put them in the same category.
When looking at the food groups, nuts and seeds fit better into the fats and oils group rather than fruit because of their nutritional content.
Most Common Nuts (in alphabetical order)
- Almonds
- Brazil nuts
- Cashews
- Chestnuts
- Hazelnuts
- Macadamias
- Peanuts
- Pecans
- Pistachios
- Walnuts
Nutritional Info
Fat
Nuts are healthy mainly because of their high amount of "good" unsaturated fats – the ones that help minimize the risk of cardiovascular diseases. They do still have some saturated fat as well though which means we still have to think about how much of them we're eating.
Some sources suggest that nuts are a good source of omega-3 fatty acids but the truth is that plant sources contain an omega-3 precursor and the conversion to actual omega-3 can be as little as 1%. So for that, you're better off sticking to oily fish and its products.
Saturated fat content from low to high:
- Hazelnuts
- Almonds
- Chestnuts
- Walnuts
- Pecans
- Pistachios
- Peanuts
- Brazil nuts
- Macadamias
- Cashews
Vitamins
Since they have a lot of fat, they also have fat-soluble vitamins. In particular vitamin E which is an antioxidant and further helps the body fight off any diseases and minimizes their risks.
Nuts have also a fair amount of certain B vitamins like biotin (B7) and vitamin B2.
Fiber
Nuts are a great fiber source. Whole nuts, ground, nut flour, or nut butters are all great fiber sources. Nut based oils, however, have had all the fiber removed.
Protein
Although it may not seem so, nuts are actually a great protein source too. So for vegetarians and/or vegans, they are a really important part of the diet. However, as they do not contain all essential amino acids (like animal-based protein) a healthy plant-based diet would need to also include other proteins like beans, legumes, and whole grains.
Protein content from high to low:
- Peanuts
- Almonds
- Brazil nuts
- Pistachios
- Cashews
- Walnuts
- Hazelnuts
- Pecans
- Macadamias
- Chestnuts
How To Eat Nuts?
Nuts can be eaten whole, ground, or processed into nut products like butter, oil, or flour (food processors are great for doing this at home – note affiliate link to our top choice). They can be added to porridge, spread on toast, sprinkled in salads or added to batters for baking dishes.
If eating them whole, unsalted nuts are better salted (maybe not for taste though). And if roasting them, always choose dry-roasted.
How Much Is Too Much?
Nuts should be eaten in moderation. Especially for adults. A handful of nuts provides about 200 calories which represent approximately 10% of the total daily calorie intake for an average woman.
That means that eating a lot of them can quickly rack up a lot of calories and depending on the nuts, a lot of saturated fats too.
They are healthy but a healthy diet should also include a variety of other foods to achieve the total daily calorie recommendation besides the nuts.
For nuts recommendations within the fats and oils food group by age and sex, check out our portion sizes and daily recommendations.
Warnings – Brazil Nuts
Brazil nuts have high amounts of selenium. And although this might help boost thyroid function, it's really easy to go over the selenium limit. Too much selenium over time can lead to selenosis which can cause hair and nail loss, and in severe cases even kidney failure, cardiac failure, or death!
It's recommended that you don't eat more than 4 - 6 Brazil nuts per day and you likely need to be eating over a hundred for them to kill you so there's quite a margin for error!
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