Nuts are the amazing natural food which keeps on giving. But which ones are best?

GET your nuts out! Your almonds, cashews and macadamias that is. They’re the ultimate diet food, and you should be eating these ones every day.

ESCAPE: BUNDABERG FOOD .. for Kerry Heaney story .. Bundaberg produces 25% of Australia's Macadamias. Picture: Supplied

JUST like fruits and vegetables, eating nuts, is a daily “must do”.

But the question is how much and which ones are best for your health?

WHICH NUTS ARE BEST?

It’s like asking which fruit or vegetable is best. The simple answer is — all nuts are genuine health foods, however some nuts have particular standout nutrients above the rest.

Almonds — calcium and vitamin E

Ideal for those who avoid dairy, calcium-rich almonds are a good choice to ensure you’re getting enough of this bone-building mineral. Compared to other nuts, almonds are the richest in vitamin E — an important fat-soluble vitamin and antioxidant which can help maintain heart health and improve the condition and appearance of your skin.

Just a handful (30g serve) provides over 70 per cent of recommended daily vitamin E requirements.

This is way more than the recommended 30g serve, but almonds are a great choice.

Brazil nuts — selenium

Brazil nuts are one of the richest food sources of the mineral selenium, a powerful antioxidant which reduces the risk of heart disease and supports immunity. You only need two brazil nuts a day to get 100 per cent of your daily needs.

Cashews — magnesium, iron, zinc

A handful of cashews supplies a quarter of your daily magnesium needs, which is crucial for over 300 chemical interactions in the body. A handful of cashews also dishes up 12 per cent of your daily intake of zinc and iron. Combine that with cashews containing a reasonable amount of protein (5g per serve), and they’re an ideal choice for vegetarians or anyone wanting to eat less animal protein.

Walnuts — omega-3 fats

Walnuts are one of the few plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids which are thought to keep blood vessels healthy, reduce inflammation and lower the bad form of LDL cholesterol. You only need a 30g handful to get 100 per cent of your recommended daily intake for omega-3 fatty acids — good news if you’re not a huge fan of oily fish.

Macadamias — mono-unsaturated fats

With a similar fat profile to olive oil, this quintessential Aussie nut has the highest content of mono-unsaturated fat — the type of fat that looks after your heart and has benefits for diabetes management.

Macadamias, the quintessential Aussie nut, look like this before they’re cracked.

WATCHING YOUR WEIGHT?

Yes, nuts are packed with fat, containing as many kilojoules as a small packet of potato chips. However, large studies have found that people can snack on modest amounts of nuts without expanding their waistline, and that nut eaters can even weigh less and have less body fat than nut avoiders.

Why? Experts believe this is because nuts are so high in fibre, they pass through the body without being completely broken down. What’s more, the body doesn’t actually absorb all the fat in the nuts. Another explanation for preventing the kilo creep is the satiation power (feeling full) provided by their high fat and protein content, which can have a positive affect on appetite, reducing the likelihood on snacking on sweets and high-fat processed snacks.

ROASTED OR RAW?

Unlike a bag of hot chips or potato crisps, roasting nuts hardly impacts the amount and type of fats in the nut — and that’s whether or not they are submerged in oil or dry roasted. Why? Nuts are so dense, they only absorb approximately 2-5 per cent of the oil they are cooked in.

But many roasted packaged nuts usually come with added salt, so keep an eye out for the low or no salt variety.

HOW MANY NUTS SHOULD I EAT EACH DAY?

Just as we need two serves of fruit and five serves of vegetables each day, it’s recommended we eat at least a handful (30g) of nuts. And mixed nuts are the perfect choice to take advantage of the specific nutrition benefits of each individual nuts.

A perfect portion of mixed nuts. Picture: Kathleen Alleaume.

Kathleen Alleaume is a nutrition and exercise scientist and founder of The Right Balance.

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Originally published as Nuts are the amazing natural food which keeps on giving. But which ones are best?