One food that causes quite a division in my family is peanut butter. Exactly half of us love it, and the other half absolutely hates it. I am actually on the peanut butter lover side of my family, along with my dad and one brother.

My mom and other two brothers can’t even stand the smell of it. But my family’s opinion on peanut butter aside, peanut butter, and just nuts in general, are a super healthy way to add some good fats and nutrients to our diets! And, for the record, peanuts are actually a legume. 

And, with Arizona known for our Pistachio and Pecan production, we must celebrate the health of nuts. In fact, new research shows pistachios are also high in antioxidants. Pecans feature their own health benefits too.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, nuts offer the following health benefits:

  • High in fiber
  • High in protein
  • Full of vitamin E, folic acid, niacin, magnesium, vitamin B6, zinc, copper and potassium
  • A good source of the amino acid I-arginine, which helps reduce plaque buildup in the heart
  • A good source of various phytochemicals that promote heart health

There are so many different kinds of nuts to choose from to include in your diet, such as pistachios, peanuts, cashews, almonds, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, and more! They are also incredibly easy to incorporate into recipes, both sweet and savory! Or, they make the perfect snack just by themselves!

Even if we just stick to pecans and pistachios since we grow them in Arizona, we’re doing really good at exploiting the health benefits of nuts.

For more health-related articles, check out the Fill Your Plate blog!