When you think of nuts and health, the two things go together like peanut butter and jelly.
That’s because there are numerous studies supporting nut consumption and better heart health as well as weight loss.
However, not all nuts are created equal, and evidence shows this may be the #1 nut to eat for heart health.
And no, it’s not almonds, brazil nuts, pecans, or peanuts.
Oh yeah, peanuts aren’t a nut, they’re a legume.
The nut that’s best for heart health and weight loss?
The macadamia nut.
And while macadamias are great for heart health and weight loss in a regular diet, they’re even better when consumed as part of a ketogenic diet.
Here’s why the macadamia nut is one of the best nuts you can eat.
What Macadamias Do to Your Body to Change Your Health
In the past few decades, health experts have come to realize that fat isn’t a bad thing.
In fact, the discovery that fat wasn’t the enemy, and healthy fats are essential for helping maintain the proper function of many vital systems, is what led to the explosion in ketogenic diet adherents.
One of the basic tenets of the ketogenic diet is to harness the health-boosting power of nuts a dieter has to eat low amounts of carbohydrates (under 5% total caloric intake can come from carbs) and small amounts of protein, too (20-25% of total caloric intake can come from protein).
This nutrient matrix presents a problem for many dieters.
That issue is many of the foods that are high in fat are also in protein.
And that includes most nuts.
But not the macadamia nut.
The macadamia nut, a tree nut from Brazil, happens to have one of the highest fat/lowest protein ratios in the world.
And when included in a ketogenic diet, macadamia nuts can help people lose all kinds of weight while also protecting their heart at the same time.
How is this all possible?
It has everything to do with the kind of fat macadamia nuts are made up of.
These fats have been shown in dozens of studies to accelerate metabolism while also lowering cholesterol and improving circulation.
Macadamia nuts provide 21 grams of fat per 1 ounce serving, of which, 16 grams are the healthiest fats around.
Monounsaturated fats.
Not to mention they’re filled with nutritious compounds known to influence health positively.
The combination of these healthy fats along with vitamins and minerals put the macadamia nut squarely at the front of the pack when it comes to “the world’s healthiest nuts.”
Here’s what the research says about macadamia nuts and how they can make you as healthy as an ox.
Research Proves Macadamias Are a Health-Boosting Superfood
Macadamia nuts have been shown in well-regarded research studies to help improve health.
Researchers at BML published a study that showed tree nuts like macadamia help resist the development of the metabolic syndrome.
In particular, macadamia nuts were shown to help reduce triglyceride levels, which is a risk factor for the hallmark weight gain associated with metabolic syndrome.
Another study from the University of Hawaii indicated macadamia nuts helped protect the heart, too.
According to EverydayHealth.com:
“The research study compared three different types of diets – a typical American diet that was high in fat and calories, a diet in which the fat calories came solely from macadamia nuts and a “heart-healthy” diet recommended by the American Heart Association. The study compared 15 men and 15 women, ages 18 to 59, as they followed each of the three diets for a period of 1 month.
Results from this study showed that the test subjects who followed the macadamia nut diet had lower cholesterol levels than those on the typical American diet and similar levels to those on the American Heart Association’s low-fat diet.”
And another study that the Journal of Nutrition published.
In that study, 17 men ate what was equivalent to 15% of their total caloric intake as macadamia nuts for 4 weeks. At the end of the study their cholesterol, triglycerides and homocysteine concentrations and the fatty acid composition of plasma lipids were analyzed (the researchers measured them before the study started as well).
Their findings?
“Macadamia nuts lower plasma total and LDL cholesterol levels in hypercholesterolemic men.”
These three studies are only a sampling of the research available that support macadamia nut consumption for better health.
When purchasing macadamia nuts, try and go organic when you can.
Since they’re tree nuts, macadamias are often exposed to pesticides and herbicides that could be harmful in the future.
