Are nuts and seeds good to eat when dieting?
Guidance on nutrition is a huge part of my responsibility as a personal trainer in Livermore, CA. Although exercise is important for weight loss and a healthy lifestyle, eating is by far even more crucial in getting results. One of the questions I was asked the other day by one of my clients was whether or not it was ok for them to eat nuts as a snack. When my client asked this question other clients overheard in the gym and several mixed opinions were heard. So what is the true answer from a personal training perspective on nuts?
The downfall is that Nuts and seeds are known to be a high calorie and high fat dense food. An ounce of almonds and sunflower seeds both have 14 grams, cashews have 13 and pecans have a total fat count of 20 grams. It’s when we consider what kind of fat they contain that we see the difference between these and other foods with a high total fat count. The good news is where nuts and seeds are high in fat is in the mono and polyunsaturated fats, but these are good for us, raising our “good cholesterol” levels and typically containing essential vitamins like A, D, E and K.
Nuts are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, with one ounce of Brazil nuts containing 780% of the recommended daily intake of selenium, and walnuts providing the most omega-3 fatty acids of any common nut. Almonds are a wonderful source of copper, magnesium and phosphorous, and 6 grams of protein per one-ounce serving. The June 2004 issue of the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry reported that pecans contain the highest antioxidant capacity of all nuts and Sunflower seeds provide the most potent combi-nation of vitamins and minerals of any common nut or seed.
But too much of a good thing can be a bad thing too! Although nuts and seeds are full of vitamins, anti-oxidants and fiber, they do contain around 160-200 calories in a one ounce serving. So never eat out of a bag and always measure out a serving size (enough to fit in the palm of your hand). The worst thing we can do is reach for junk foods when we need a snack. Nuts and seeds are a convenient but healthy snack food and have been proven to take the edge off our hunger without the added carbohydrates and sugar of most other snack food options.
For more information on personal training and nutrition contact me at don [at] donslifestyle [dot] com
