Do you feel like a nut?

By Wendell Fowler

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I’ve been accused of going nuts, and I urge you to do the same. Meeting a friend for tea at a burger joint, I observed someone at a neighboring table take small bites out of a bacon double cheeseburger, ironically lamenting to a friend the heartbreaking loss of a loved one to heart disease. Sorry to say, if you’re steadfastly super-glued to the traditional Midwestern meat, potato, corn and green bean diet, statistics say you are less inclined to feel like a nut. There is nothing wrong with eating naturally fed meat in moderation; I’ll even cook it for you. I’ve been good-naturedly teased by hardcore carnivores that I’m a downright un-American nut-ball for not eating meat, the main cause of heart disease. Don’t get me wrong, I practice denial every day, too. But after miraculously surviving a brush with terminal heart disease, I decline to voyage down that road again — not for all the nuts in Brazil. It’s what you’re not receiving from the cherished meat-and-potato diet: omega-3 alpha-linoleic acids, from nuts, a dried fruit seed. According to the Pritikin Longevity Center and Spa, most nuts are high in omega-3 alpha-linoleic acid, which helps stop inflammation in the body and prevents coronary heart disease. If you can’t lick the meat tradition, at least improve your odds with daily handfuls of nuts. One cup a day, not a week, drastically reduces your chance of heart attack and potential arterial damage more so than olive oil. Sorry, honey-roasted nuts don’t count. Alas, peanuts do not contain cholesterol-lowering benefits and are not very high in vitamins. Are you apprehensive about dementia? Omega-3 fats improve brain development and maintenance. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says consuming omega-3 fats preserve, fertilize and defend brain function. In that case, I need to eat more. [ad#single-post] Diabetics, rejoice! Researchers believe that unsaturated fats in nuts may allow the body to use insulin more effectively and regulate blood glucose. Researchers believe unsaturated fats in nuts may allow the body to use insulin more effectively and regulate blood glucose, though further research is needed to confirm the study’s results. The risk of fatal coronary disease and developing type 2 diabetes both appear to decrease steadily as nut consumption increases from less than once a week to once or more per day. Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t. Nuts are of course a fatty food and many worry they’ll pork-out from eating more nuts. Fahgeddaboutit! These are the good guys. The more often nuts are eaten the better. The glorious benefits appear to increase as the frequency of nut eating increases. Almonds, the healthiest nut, have the most calcium of any nut, lots of vitamin E and wonderful heart-healthy fats. They help keep the gastrointestinal tract in balance. Walnuts are extremely high in omega-3 alpha linoleic acid. With your next juicy steak, grab a handful. Walnuts have been shown to reduce the injury a high-fat meal does to your arteries. Pistachios are good for eye health. Due to their high content of carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin which are stored in the retina to maintain vision. Macadamia nuts are the most saturated of all. Eighty percent in monounsaturated, which lowers triglycerides and have positive effects on LDL and HDL. Add nuts to your morning cereal. Take a zip-lock bag and snack at work rather than a bag of deep-fried pork rinds. Toss the nutritional nuggets into a salad at dinner. Instead of adding chocolate chips when making cookies, sprinkle on some nuts. Or instead of making a deli meat sandwich, expand your nutritional horizon and try nut butter on whole grain toast. You can do it even if your well-intended carnivorous friends accuse you of going un-patriotically nuts.

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