Reasons why you should add nuts to your healthy diet

There's a good reason that people put nuts in trail mix to take with them when they're hiking. Nuts provide sustained energy because, thanks to their mix of fat and protein, they're a "slow-burning" food. For the same reason, they're friendly to your blood sugar. Here's everything you need to know about the healthy snack, including some simple ways to add them to your diet.

• Researchers discovered that women who regularly ate nuts (about a handful five times a week) were 20 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who didn't eat them as often.
• Yes, nuts are high in fat — but it's mostly "good" fat. Good fat may reduce insulin resistance, and in the case of most nuts, 85 percent of their fat is this kind.
• Good fats, of course, also improve heart health, even boosting levels of "good" HDL cholesterol.
• In studies, people who ate as few as 150 grams (five ounces) of nuts a week as part of an overall heart-healthy diet lowered their risk of developing heart disease by 35 percent compared to those who ate nuts less than once a month. (This doesn't apply to macadamia nuts, though, because of their high saturated fat content.)
• In fact, one study found that a diet that includes unsaturated fats from almonds and walnuts may have 10 percent more cholesterol-lowering power than a traditional cholesterol-lowering diet.

If you eat nuts frequently, you may also be damping down chronic inflammation in your body, which can help reduce your risk of both diabetes and heart disease. And the protein in most nuts is unusually rich in the amino acid arginine, which may help relax blood vessels, making a heart attack less likely.

• Some nuts, including walnuts and almonds, also contain plant sterols, which have been shown to lower cholesterol, and a natural compound called resveratrol, the same one found in red wine and shown to lower heart disease risk.
• Like fish, walnuts are a good source of omega-3 fats, another shot in the arm against heart disease.
• Peanuts, which also contain plaint sterols, aren't technically nuts at all, but legumes. They grow underground, but for health, they rank right up there with all the aboveground nuts.

Nuts are high in calories, so a serving is small. Because nuts come in all shapes and sizes, the number that equals a serving varies quite a bit. Macadamia nuts contain a whopping 1,000 calories per cup, so indulge sparingly. 30 g/1 oz is the ideal portion. Here's what that looks like:

• Almonds: 20 to 24 nuts.
• Brazil nuts: 9 or 10 nuts.
• Cashews: 16 to 18 whole pieces.
• Hazelnuts: 18 to 20 nuts.
• Peanuts: 40 whole peices.
• Pine nuts: 150 to 157 nuts.
• Pistachios: 45 to 47 nuts.
• Walnuts: 8 to 11 halves.

• Nuts provide a hard-to-find nutrient — vitamin E, an important antioxidant that may help fight prostate and lung cancers.
• Brazil nuts are selenium superstars, providing a whopping 200 times more of the mineral than any other nut.
• Selenium has been linked to prevention of both cancer and heart disease. Almonds provide bone-building calcium.
• Hazelnuts and cashews boast the most copper, a much-needed nutrient for people with diabetes.

Adding nuts to a dish can make it a real standout in terms of both taste and nutrition. Here are a few simple suggestions.

• Stir chopped walnuts or pecans into rice dishes.
• Add pistachios to chicken salad.
• Mix pine nuts or chopped walnuts into pasta dishes along with olive oil, basil and sun-dried tomatoes.
• Create your own trail mix for snacking with dried fruit, high-fibre cereal and your favourite nuts.
• Top off pumpkin, squash or tomato soup with chopped roasted nuts.
• Sprinkle your favourite chopped nuts and some dried cranberries on green salads.
• For better-tasting waffles, pancakes and muffins, add chopped nuts to the batter.
• Stir nuts into stir-fry dishes.

Overall, nuts are a nutritious and tasty addition to any meal. Keep this guide in mind and try adding nuts to your diet today!