Nuts Revealed

My favorite snack as a kid was red pistachio nuts -- I’m sure my mother just loved how my hands, face and clothing would be dyed red following my afternoon snack. However, as a former chronic dieter, I’ve spent the past 20 years thinking of nuts as “forbidden” -- definitely not worth the calorie and fat content. But after all I’ve heard lately about the health benefits of nuts, I’m starting to reconsider my 20-year boycott.

Even though a one-ounce serving of nuts contains between 160 and 200 calories, 80-90 percent of which comes from fat, the fat in nuts is primarily the heart-healthy monounsaturated kind. Nuts are also very high in dietary fiber and are one of the best plant sources of protein.

“In addition to being rich in healthy monounsaturated fat and antioxidant phytonutrients, nuts play an important role in blood lipid management (lowering bad cholesterol and raising good cholesterol). They also help dilate blood vessels and prevent arteriosclerosis,” says Julie Walsh, MS, RD, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.

In fact, a recent study followed 86,016 nurses over the course of 14 years and found that those who ate 5 ounces or more of nuts per week reduced their risk of death from heart attack by 35%, and were, on average, thinner than those who did not eat nuts.

But don’t go running out for a Snickers bar just yet, experts warn. “People hear that nuts have health-promoting assets, and they think that gives them a license to overindulge. Yes, they are important for a balanced diet, but if you add nuts to your diet without decreasing calories from other sources, those extra calories will negate the health benefits by leading to weight gain,” says David L. Katz, M.D., M.P.H., author of “The Way to Eat” (Sourcebooks, 2002) and Director of Medical Studies in Public Health at Yale University.

My neighbor is a perfect example of what NOT to do. He was bragging the other day about how he’s been eating more healthy foods (having recently weighed in at 350 pounds) -- instead of a bag of potato chips on the way home from work, he’s substituted a bulk size bag of macadamia nuts. No joke. This bag contains 11 servings for a total of 2,200 calories and 231 grams of fat -- I never thought I’d recommend potato chips to anyone! And for the record, macadamia nuts are the most fattening of all nuts, and chestnuts are the least, with just 70 calories and 1 gram of fat per ounce.

In a recent report, the USDA confirmed that the majority of nuts are consumed on their own (not in desserts, or in breakfast cereals). The problem is that if you’re eating nuts on the go, or in passing at a party, you’re not paying attention to what you consume -- and that’s when the calories and fat can really add up. Experts recommend pre-portioning nuts in small baggies for a grab and go snack, or buying nuts in the shell -- since you’ll eat less if you have to crack them yourself.

Dr. Katz asserts that it’s critical to understand that nuts “must be eaten instead of, rather than in addition to, other fat sources in the diet.” The idea is “to substitute nuts for less healthy fat from chips, cookies, crackers and cheese.” Peanut butter, for instance, could be a smart substitute for cheese or meat on a sandwich.

Here are some ways to substitute unhealthy fat with healthy “nut” fat in your diet:

- Whole Wheat Pasta with Pesto Sauce

How it can fit: Decrease the oil, increase the nuts

REPLACE: Traditional pesto sauce per 1/4 cup: 320 calories, 4 g carb, 11 g protein, 29 g fat

WITH: Reduced oil pesto per 1/4 cup: 160 calories, 2 g carb, 5 g protein, 15 g fat

ADD: 1 oz pine nuts: 157 calories, 4 g carb, 7 g protein, 14 g fat

- Yogurt

How it can fit: Replace your usual yogurt with fat-free, sugar-free yogurt with almonds!

REPLACE: Low-fat yogurt made with added sugar: 220 calories, 45 g carb, 11 g protein, 3 g fat

WITH: Non-fat sugar free yogurt: 120 calories, 21 g carb, 8 g protein

ADD: 2 tbsp almonds: 90 calories, 4 g carb, 4 g protein, 8 g fat

- Non-Fat Frozen Yogurt

How it can fit: Use peanuts instead of candy topping such as chocolate chips

REPLACE: 1 oz chocolate chips: 84 calories, 9 g carb, 1 g protein, 5 g fat

WITH: 1/2 oz peanuts: 85 calories, 3 g carb, 3.5 g protein, 7 g fat

- Spinach or Strawberry Salad

How it can fit: Use a fat-free dressing instead of full-fat dressing, and add walnuts

REPLACE: 2 tbsp of raspberry vinaigrette dressing: 100 calories, 3 g carb, 10 g fat

WITH: 2 tbsp reduced-fat raspberry vinaigrette dressing: 40 calories, 5 g carb

ADD: 5 walnut halves: 65 calories, 1 g carb, 1 g protein, 6 g fat

- Caesar Salad

How it can fit: Use pine nuts for the “crunch” in a Caesar salad instead of croutons

REPLACE: 1/2 cup of croutons: 150 calories, 29 g , 4 g protein, 3 g fat

ADD: 1 oz pine nuts: 157 calories, 4 g carb, 7 g protein, 14 g fat

- Chicken Salad

How it can fit: Less mayonnaise (or reduced fat mayo), add cashews

REPLACE: 1 cup of chicken salad: 420 calories, 30 g protein, 32 g fat

WITH: 1 cup reduced fat chicken salad: 295 calories, 20 g carb, 29 g protein, 11 g fat

ADD: 3/4 oz cashews: 120 calories, 3 g carb, 3 g protein, 10 g fat

Charles Stuart Platkin is a syndicated health, nutrition, and fitness columnist, author of the best-selling book, Breaking the Pattern (Red Mill Press, 2002), and founder of Nutricise.com. Copyright 2003 by Charles Stuart Platkin. This column is made possible by a grant from the Institute for Nutrition & Behavioral Sciences.

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