Nuts are a great snack idea, crunchy addition to a salad, a great toast topping when made into a spread form (e.g. peanut butter or almond brazil & cashew butter). Such a versatile food that should be in your diet, unless of course, you have an allergy!
What is it about nuts that are so great?
- Packed full of omega 3’s à good for your brain health
- Provide a source of protein
- Provide a source of fibre
- Provide some calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc & iron
- Provide B vitamins including folate and Vitamin E
- Provide antioxidant minerals including selenium & manganese
Nutty nutrients
Each nut variety contains its own unique combination of nutrients and is generally rich in a few nutrients such as:
- Almonds: protein, calcium and vitamin E
- Brazil nuts: fibre and selenium: just two brazil nuts a day provides 100% RDI for selenium for an adult
- Cashews: non-haem (plant-based) iron and a low GI rating
- Chestnuts: low GI, fibre and vitamin C (although much vitamin C is lost during cooking)
- Hazelnuts: fibre, potassium, folate, vitamin E
- Macadamias: highest in monounsaturated fats, thiamin and manganese
- Pecans: fibre and antioxidants
- Pine nuts: vitamin E and the arginine amino acid
- Pistachios: protein, potassium, plant sterols and the antioxidant resveratrol
- Walnuts: alpha-linoleic acid: plant omega 3 and antioxidants
(Source: nutritionaustralia.org)
While they’re packed full of goodness you do need to be mindful of your serving sizes to maintain a healthy weight & size. Keep your serving to a small handful weighing around 30g!
