Encouraging Health

If you love nuts as much as a backyard squirrel does, but you’re caught up by your calorie-counting conscience, relax. And read on . . .

Peanuts may be one high-calorie treat that doesn’t do serious damage to your weight or your waistline.

Say Hi to Mr. Peanut
In a recent small study where people were given a daily snack of peanuts, researchers were surprised to find that no one’s weight changed significantly after many weeks, despite the extra calories. Why? Seems peanuts fill you up (thanks to the fiber, protein, and healthy monounsaturated fats) but don’t necessarily fatten you up, because the fat and calories in the nuts aren’t completely absorbed by your gut. Now, if only Girl Scout cookies worked the same way.

Go Nuts

Making a heart-smart grocery list? Add a bag of peanuts.

Saving your own life doesn’t get much easier than this: Eat a handful of peanuts twice a week. Or almonds, walnuts, or Brazil nuts, if you prefer. Men who do this slash their risk of suddenly dying from a heart attack by almost half. Why? It’s all about the good fats.

What makes nuts so heart-healthy? Monounsaturated fats — those good-for-you fats that lower bad LDL cholesterol and increase good HDL, which helps keep your arteries clean and clog-free. Nuts are full of good fats, as are olive oil, canola oil, avocados, and flaxseed. In a study, men who nibbled on nuts at least twice a week had a 46 percent lower chance of dying from an out-of-the-blue heart attack than men who rarely or never ate nuts.

The only caveat: Nuts are high in calories — although other studies have found that, thanks to a happy quirk of digestive chemistry, the body doesn’t absorb all the calories in nuts. Still, if weight loss is a goal, substitute nuts for other snacks rather than just adding them to your daily diet. A little goes a long way: It only takes a small handful, the rough equivalent of a 1-ounce serving, to protect your ticker.

Lost in Digestion
More good news about peanuts: We may burn off the fats in them better than we burn off the fats in potato chips or cookies. Our bodies break down the monounsaturated fats in peanuts and convert them into energy more easily than saturated fats.

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nuts, fiber, protein, and healthy monounsaturated fats

nuts, fiber, protein, and healthy monounsaturated fats