Almonds
 

I recently decided to start eating almonds. After finding out that my Cholesterol is a little high - I did research on Almonds and found out that they are good to help lower your bad cholesterol.

I've been eating them for about two weeks now and I have noticed that the chest pains I was getting daily have gone away completely. I have not had any in the last week. (Which is unusual, but good!)

I've been eating 24 almonds (1 ounce) everyday, 6 before lunch, 6 after lunch, and I snack on the other 12 throughout the rest of the day. They are high in fat, but good fat.

Does anyone else here eat almonds, if so, have you noticed any other good effects from them? I think these are going to be very helpful while I'm dieting :)

~ Kari ~

I've been snacking on almonds, hazel nuts, walnuts, pecans and brazil nuts lately. I bought them in the shell because they remind dh of Christmas when he was a kid. The time taken cracking the shells and digging out the nutmeat is fun and ensures we don't eat a ton of them. I hadn't noticed any obvious, immediate health benefits though. Having a couple at the end of a meal is great because it allows time for your brain to get the full message from the meal while you're working at them.

Almond butter
 

I don't eat whole almonds all that often but I do eat almond butter. Yummy stuff. I can't tolerate peanut butter so it is a great breakfast alternative for me. The stuff I buy at the health food place is just almonds and salt so no icky additives. You can also make your own if you are so ambitious!

Peg

I eat almonds nearly every day. I find their crunch to be very satisfying. They are also filling. I eat all 28 of mine at one time usually, sometimes I might eat 14 for early an early snack and 14 for a late snack. I haven't noticed any changes, but it will be an extra bonus if there is one! Thanks for the info.

I eat almonds regularly as well. I've gotten my LDL (bad) cholesterol under control but I still have to take medication because my HDL (good) cholesterol is too low. I have begun adding nuts, avodcados, etc. to my diet in an effort to raise it. Unsalted almonds are my favorite. I find that they are very filling and, because I can eat them one at a time (peanuts or sunflower seeds I can throw by handful in my mouth), they take a little longer to eat and leave me feeling like I've had a REAL snack.

Adding almonds may have played a role in the chest pains disappearing but I suspect it is probably the overall improvement in your diet for weight loss. Of course, it really would depend on what were causing them in the first place. Either way, at least they are gone!

Does it have to be Almond? Are there similar benefits for peanuts or cashew? Honestly, I love casher. Do you eat almonds raw? or rosted? Besides, aren't nuts high in fat and calorie? I feel that I always gain weight after I start snacking on nuts, though I have to admit that I love nuts, I love the crunchy feeling! I still have two big jars of cashew in my cabinet. Shall I switch to almonds? Anything special about almonds?

You can eat the almonds in any form - roasted, raw, ground up for almond butter, and even almond oil has the good properties that we are looking for. Other nuts offer the same or similar benefits, including walnuts, pecans, and even peanuts. However, cashews are not included due to their saturated fat content. Brazilnuts, macadamias, and pine nuts are also not in the recommended list.

I've haven't tried it yet, but you can also grind almonds in to a fine powder and use as a replacement for all purpose flour. Not long ago their was show on PRM that focused on recipes using almonds and I learned all kinds of nifty things to do with them.

i do gain weight when i start snacking on nuts. it is because i love them so much that i can't just have a little. it is unfortunate. i like to think of myself as having fantastic will power. nuts must be like my kryptonite. they are good though, and i have read the benefits of having them in your diet. maybe one day i will be able to control myself.

Nuts
 

I've seen some different recommendations. What source did you get your list from?

Thanks!
Cheree

Hi Cheree :) I got the info from
http://www.nutnutrition.com/nutrition/faq.htm http://www.deliciouslivingmag.com/ma...&articleID=137
http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/riskfactors/a/nuts.htm
http://www.cocoapro.com/cnhy/choc_health/cyh310.jsp
http://www.almondsarein.com/news/story.cfm?id=144

And from this FDA warning letter regarding health claims and nuts:
http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qhcnuts2.html

Nuts
 

Thanks for your reply! I guess I went nuts :) I got my nuts mixed up, I was thinking about hazelnuts instead of Brazil nuts.

Thanks!
Cheree

I love hazelnuts! I recently bought some hazelnut oil, too. I read an article in Cooking Light last year about cooking with nut oils and they gave a lot of tips and recommendations. I'm enjoying experimenting, though I only have hazelnut oil and walnut oil at the moment. I went through years of the "fat BAAAD" mindset, so I'm learning how to reintroduce it into my diet to meet the moderate fat guidelines.

Hazelnuts, Almonds, and Walnuts
 

I really like hazelnuts as well (almonds and walnuts too!) - all in moderation though. I am also trying to allow myself some fats each day (a small amount)...I'm like you, I use to think that the only good fats was 0 fats. I still even feel guilty eating a tablespoon of peanut butter (Smucker's Natural) on a piece of toast. One thing I'm definately doing with fats though (besides limiting them) is avoiding (the best I can) trans fats.