Hi everybody this is Monica Reinagle and you're listening to the

nutrition diva quick and dirty tips for eating well and feeling fabulous

today's quick and dirty nutrition tip is to eat nuts for a

healthy heart. Just don't go nuts or you could easily pack on a few pounds.

In any case I just got an email from Chad asking me to do an episode on nuts and how they fit into a healthy diet.

This is a very smart question.

Nuts have a lot going for them.

There are a whole bunch of studies showing that people who eat nuts several times a week have a much lower risk of heart disease.

Nuts are very nutrient-dense, meaning they pack a whole lot of nutrition into a very small package.

Specifically, nuts are rich in

antioxidants, fiber, and heart healthy fats. They also contain nutrients called

plant sterols, which help to lower LDL or the so-called bad cholesterol and they can be an

important source of protein for vegetarians. On the other hand, nuts are also notoriously

calorie-dense. That means they pack a whole lot of calorie. Nuts are also notoriously calorie dense.

That means they pack a whole lot of calories

into a very small package.

And that's exactly the kind of food

you want to avoid if you're watching your weight.

Station yourself near the nut dish at a cocktail party or football game, you can easily

inhale a meal's worth of calories in a couple of minutes without even realizing it.

Unfortunately, you can't separate the good from the bad. Adding more nuts to your diet means adding more calories.

And it doesn't matter how nutritious those calories are.

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