Nutty Ideas: How To Go Nuts With Your Holiday Diet Without The Guilt

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By Mia Bolaris-Forget

The holidays, as much fun as they are and as much as many of us look forward to them, can drive you nuts. But, going “nuts” during the holiday season can be a good thing, especially if you choose this healthy snack above other less healthy options.

Almond Joy: Noshing on almonds can help lower stress levels. In fact, just 24 of these little nuts offer you 35% of the daily recommended value of vitamin E, and they are most potent when eaten with the skin on. Plus, they pack a powerful punch of calcium, magnesium, and riboflavin.

Say aloha to macamia nuts: These top the list of nuts with the most monounsaturated fats, the good kind, know for lowering the bad cholesterol, LDL. Only once ounce, about 10 or 12 macadamia nuts offers 17 grams of heart-healthy nutrients as well as a dose of thiamin, a B vitaming that helps keep muscles, nerves and you GI tract on the right track.

ite into a Brazil nut once in a while: Not only is the country known for its exotic women, but also for its exotic nuts. These amazing nuts are packed with the powerful antioxidant selenium plus plenty of protein and zinc (known to increase your body’s immunity and offer stress relief), all without saturated fat.

Crack a walnut: The amega-3 fatty acid packed nuts are also full of powerful antioxidants. In fact, in a study of plant foods they ranked second in antioxidant content (with rosehips ranking first).

Get happy with hazelnuts: That’s right, these nuts, also known as filberts are packed with tryptophan known to be a mood booster/stabilizer.

Party with peanuts: While not actually nuts, but part of the legume family, they are full of essential B-vitamins including folate, niacin and riboflavin.

Finally, going nutty at parties or at snack time and on a regular basis can make your real age up to 6 years younger.