Healthy Nuts for Cooking and Snacking

By Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D., November/December 2010

Four favorite varieties are packed with healthy reasons to cook with nuts.

READER'S COMMENT:

"Yes, what about people with tree nut allergies? Are we out of luck and in bad health? What do peanuts offer? "

Pecans

Pecans (19 halves, 193 calories per serving) contain more antioxidants—compounds that sweep up tissue-damaging free radicals—than any other tree nut, according to a study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Pecans also provide notable amounts of zinc, a mineral most often found in animal-based foods.