Nuts are good for you. Does this include Brazil nuts?

People are finally realizing that almonds, walnuts, and peanuts are health foods, but still think that Brazil nuts, cashews, and macadamia nuts can’t possibly be good for you. All of these nuts are great in slightly different ways.

Almonds have more protein than the others and plenty of monounsaturated fat, the kind that’s in olive oil. But macadamia nuts, cashews, and Brazil nuts have a lot of monounsaturated fat too. Walnuts are my personal favorite with lots of cholesterol-lowering polyunsaturated fats and omega-3 fats. But Brazil nuts also contain polyunsaturated fats.

Don’t worry about these minor differences- enjoy a variety of nuts and you’ll get all the healthy fats you need, together with minerals, vitamins, protein, and as a bonus, plant sterols that will lower your blood cholesterol.

How to use healthy fats in your cooking

People are always asking me “What is the best oil for cooking?” and “Is coconut oil good for health?” Those are great questions, that I’ve written about quite a bit, so for the answers, I can refer you to either my book, Fat Is Not The Enemy, for an in depth discussion, or to an article I wrote for How To Do Things.com, at
http://www.howtodothings.com/health-fitness/how-to-use-healthy-fats-in-your-cooking - this can also be accessed from my How To Do Things.com profile page: http://www.howtodothings.com/user/endemann . Let me know if you have trouble accessing it- maybe I’ll reprint it here.