A Nut a Day Will Keep the Doctor Away

Sorry to disappoint the dirty minds out there, but I am talking about walnuts, almonds, pistachio and hazel nuts. Nuts are one of this Earth’s super-foods that, to live a healthy life, should be a part of our everyday diets. Nuts are high in vitamin E, fiber and arginine which have significant health benefits. Here is a 5-point list of what a good nut can do for you:

1.       Weight loss. Studies have shown that people who eat nuts regularly have lower body weights. Due to its high fiber content, nuts are slow to metabolize in the body so it requires the body to work harder to process the food which burns calories and increases metabolism.

2.       Heart health and stress protection. It is no secret that stress can cause physical damage to the body. Nuts, such as walnuts, protect the body from damage caused by stress and minimize the effect on the heart.  Nuts such as almonds, hazel nuts and walnuts also reduce the risk of heart disease and have been shown to lower bad cholesterol levels by almost 8%.

3.       Beautiful skin. Nuts have Vitamin E, B and arginine which boosts the immune system and promotes healthy skin. Almonds are particularly great for the skin.

4.       Cancer prevention. Nuts contain vitamin E which is known to protect against some forms of cancer. Studies show that pistachio nuts in particular provide some level of protection against lung cancer, because they are a good source of gamma-tocopherol, a strong form of vitamin E.

5.       Brain health. Nuts are good for brain health by reducing cognitive decline brought on by old age. Walnuts contain a significant amount of vitamin B which supports neural health.

Getting in a good amount of nuts in your life is important to any person’s health. Consuming nuts the same way each time can get a little boring, so be creative on how you incorporate your nuts into your diet. You will find that if you put some nuts in foods like rice, salads and pastas, it will increase your nut intake significantly.  So are you ready to increase the number of nuts you get a day? I know I am.

Stay healthy my friends.