Friday, April 2, 2010

Eat Nuts

It's no accident that a walnut looks like a mini-brain. Nuts are brain food. It just so happens that the brain is 60 percent fat and nuts have the perfect kind of fat to keep the brain clear and sharp. Nuts have omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated essential fatty acids.

There are lots of people who seem to be essential fatty acid deficient, particularly omega-3s. We eat too many unhealthy fats in our diets that cause problems with all kinds of health issues. Raw nuts, eaten in small quantities every day, do not lead to weight gain and provide lots of benefits.

The essential fatty acids in nuts make them a good addition to the diet to lower the risk of heart and circulatory problems. Small portions of raw nuts can reduce unhealthy cholesterol markers in the blood. The fats and lecithin found in nuts feed the nerves, brain and glands, providing the building blocks for hormones and other chemical signalers in the body. Nuts also improve immune function, reduces cravings and aids in intestinal elimination.

Nuts have about twice as much protein as cereal grains and if you combine nuts with legumes, seeds and grains you are providing the body with a complete balance of amino acids. Nut milks are another good source of amino acids and proteins. In you combine whole grain cereal with nut milk, you provide your body with a complete protein to start your day.

The amino acid lysine is low in all kinds of nuts, while the amino acid L-arginine is high. Nuts also contain chromium, which is a mineral that regulates sugar cravings and insulin response. Nuts are also a good source of magnesium, which regulates nerve and muscle enzyme action. Magnesium also helps the body metabolize essential fatty acids which are also contained in the nuts. Nuts contain zinc. copper, manganese, selenium, choline, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, Thiamine and Vitamin E. They are a powerhouse of dense nutrition that also supplies linoleic acid along with vitamins and minerals.

There are many ways to add nuts to your diet - you can eat them raw as a snack, chop them and put them into s salad, grind them and use them as a flour in cookies and breads, chop them finely and use then as a breading on zucchini sticks, add them to dips, make butters out of them and the list goes on.

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