You may love pecans, but here's what they never told you!

Pecan Nuts: One Handful a Day for a Healthier Life

Pecan nuts are rich in a wide abundance of nutrients, antioxidants, and healthy fats that are highly beneficial for your health. In this article, you will find all the information about this amazing and delicious nut and learn why you should add it to your daily diet.

6 Key Health Benefits of Pecan Nuts

1. A Nutritional Powerhouse

Pecan nuts are dense in energy and nutrients. Pecans are abundant in:

• Protein
• Calcium
• Iron
• Magnesium
• Phosphorus
• Potassium
• Zinc
• Thiamine (B1)
• Riboflavin (B2)
• B6
• Folic Acid (B9)
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin E

As you can see, there's a lot of good stuff packed into one small nut.

In fact, an epidemiological study found that eating 29 grams of pecan or other tree nuts causes a significant positive change in the diet quality of adults in the US.

Consumption of nutrients such as Vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and dietary fiber exceptionally improves diet quality.

2. Rich in Antioxidants

Pecans contain phenolic compounds such as ellagic acid, protocatechuic acid, gallic acid, and benzoic acid. In addition to all these, the common pecan nut also contains catechins, which are abundant in antioxidants.

Antioxidants help our body completely neutralize or resist the effects of free radicals, which are formed through natural oxidation processes in our body. An overload of free radicals in your body damages DNA and body cells and is also implicated in a large number of diseases such as:

• Various types of cancer
• Liver diseases
• Heart diseases
• Alzheimer's disease
• And more

Daily consumption of a handful of pecans will provide your body with a nice dose of effective antioxidants that will help prevent the development of these diseases.

3. Lowers Cholesterol Levels

High cholesterol levels are slowly becoming a condition that occurs at almost any age around the world. But you can lower them by adding a handful of pecans to your daily diet.

A study compared the heart-friendly diet recommended by the American Heart Association with a pecan-rich diet, where all components of the heart-friendly diet were proportionally reduced by one-fifth and replaced with pecans.

It was found that a diet rich in pecans reduced total cholesterol by 6.7% and LDL by 10.4%. That is far beyond what the recommended heart-friendly diet can achieve. The abundance of monounsaturated fatty acids in the pecan nut is likely responsible for this wonderful effect.

4. Healthy for Your Heart

Eating a handful of pecan nuts on a daily basis will only benefit your heart health. Not only does the pecan nut lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, both of which harm your heart and contribute to the development of heart disease, but it also reduces the oxidation of LDL, which is a significant step in the development of heart disease.

In fact, one study noted that eating 15 grams of pecans or another nut every day reduces your risk of developing coronary heart disease by 24%.

So, start snacking on a handful of delicious pecans today to keep your heart healthy.

5. Reduces Blood Sugar Levels

Eating pecans or other nuts helps lower blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. A study indicated that half a cup of these nuts every day lowered sugar levels in people who fasted before a blood sugar test, compared to people who did not eat pecans.

It appears that the natural and marvelous combination of magnesium and unsaturated fats in the pecan is responsible for this positive effect. The fact that pecans replaced carbohydrates that cause a blood sugar spike in the diet also played a role.

6. Pecan Nuts Help You Live a Longer, Healthier Life

The implication of all the benefits that the pecan nut has to offer is that eating pecans will lengthen your life, increase your quality of life, and maintain your good health.

A massive study that followed people for over 30 years revealed a variety of health benefits resulting from eating pecans or any other nut. The people who ate a handful of nuts every day had a 20% reduced risk of dying from any cause compared to people who did not eat a handful of nuts daily. Those who ate a handful of nuts every day were at a lower risk of dying from heart disease or cancer, and they also tended to be leaner.

So, what are you waiting for? Fill up a handful of pecan nuts and eat them today.

Pecan Nuts: How to Easily Add Them to Your Diet

Incorporate a handful of pecan nuts into your daily diet, as they are a tasty and convenient snack. Add them to your morning oatmeal, toss a handful into your fruit or vegetable salad, eat them at the office between meals with a cucumber for a complete protein, and so on.

Eating this wonderful and delicious nut will enrich your body with an abundance of natural substances it needs, improve your health, protect your heart and body against various diseases, and undoubtedly add a delicious flavor to your day.

Replace snacks and milky chocolates with a handful of pecans, because they will never disappoint you or your health.

What's your favorite way to add pecans to your meals?