Our Health Nut and Registered Dietitian, Molly Morgan, answers our customers’ most pressing health and nutrition questions!

If you’d like Molly to answer one of your questions in a future blog post, please email your question to health@nuts.com. If we feature your question in The Nutty Scoop, we will also send you a pound of your favorite Nuts.com product.

What is the healthiest nut?

It’s a draw! All nuts provide a mix of healthy, unsaturated fat, vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein. While some nuts have perks compared to others, overall they are all a healthy choice to include in your regular diet. For example:

• Brazil nuts are naturally high in the mineral selenium
• There are almost 50 pistachios in a serving
• Almonds have the highest calcium content
• Leading the pack in phytosterols are peanuts

Plan to eat a variety of nuts to gain the health benefits that come from each different type!

Are raw nuts healthier than roasted nuts?

Yes and no. Raw nuts will typically have a higher content of vitamins and minerals like iron than roasted nuts do. For example: Roasted cashews have 8% of the recommended daily value (DV) for iron compared to raw cashews, which have 10% DV for iron and 1% for calcium. Plus, roasted nuts tend to be slightly higher in total fat content than raw nuts because they are often roasted with oil, such as peanut or other vegetable oils.

How many nuts should I eat per day?

How many nuts are right for you depend on many factors, including which other foods you are eating, how many calories you can have per day, how active you are, etc. In general, it is recommended for total fat intake to be 25-35% of total calories per day. With that said, generally one or two servings of nuts per day would likely be a perfect addition to your eating routine. Keep in mind that all nuts contain antioxidants, healthy fats, and other beneficial nutrients including vitamins, minerals and fiber!

Check out our recent infographic, Nutty Nutrition Nuggets about Nuts, for more tips and details about a variety of nuts!

The weather may be cooling down, but football season is just heating up. Put on your lucky jersey and cheer on your favorite team by hosting a game day party for fellow fans (and maybe a few rivals). Put a fresh spin on tailgating by serving some of your favorite sweet and salty snacks during the game.

Guacamole Bites

Don’t worry if you can’t find ripe avocados in October! These crispy guacamole bites are seasoned with natural avocado flavors and just the right blend of Southwest spices.

Black Bean Sticks

Pep up the crowd with these jalapeno-flavored black bean sticks. Each crunchy bite has a hint of garlic, tomato and onion, and you may find yourself fighting over control of the bowl as well as the ball.

Gum Drops

Revisit a childhood favorite — soft, chewy, multicolored gum drops sprinkled with sugar. Your only challenge will be deciding which flavor is your favorite.

Chia Chips

Football game snacks don’t have to be unhealthy to be tasty. Our chia chips taste great and are good for you! Chia seeds are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, and they have proven health benefits, including reducing food cravings and blood pressure.

Chocolate-covered sunflower seeds

Cover salty sunflower seeds with a hard milk chocolate shell and you have yourself a crowd-pleaser. Put out a bowl of rainbow chocolate-covered sunflower seeds, and watch it disappear in minutes.

Garlic cheese sticks

Real garlic and romano cheese, baked with wheat flour and grains, make these garlic cheese sticks unbelievably flavorful. Serve them with dip or a hot bowl of chili for a tasty touchdown.

What are your favorite snacks for game day?

Hooray, it’s October! Not only does this month lead up to Halloween, but it’s also a time to celebrate a variety of food holidays and health-related causes. We’ve put together a few suggestions for commemorating each special occasion!

1. Eat Better, Eat Healthier Month: Healthy snacks can taste good…truly! Chia Chips are deliciously crunchy and contain chia and flax, which are full of Omega 3 fatty acids that are associated with heart health, cancer prevention, and a number of other benefits. Our Heart Healthy Sampler is full of snacks that contribute to heart health, including walnuts and dried cranberries!

2. National Breast Cancer Awareness Month: You’ll notice the nation thinking pink this month, as people proudly wear ribbons to support breast cancer research. Spices like turmeric and saffron are associated with breast cancer prevention, as are flax seeds. Research has shown that the Vitamin E in dried peaches and the lycopene in sun dried tomatoes can contribute to cancer prevention, as well.

3. Vegetarian Awareness Month: We give a special shout-out to our vegetarian customers this month! Our Vegetarian Sampler Pack is full of goodies like Veggie Chips and protein-packed Organic Quinoa.

4. Celiac Awareness Month: We have so many gluten-free customers that we created a section on our website dedicated to gluten-free products. If you love baked goods, check out our gluten-free baking mixes and enjoy bread, cakes, cookies, and muffins! We also have a wide selection of gluten-free flours,

5. Children’s Health Month: Feed your kids snacks that both of you will love! Our Extreme Trail Mix is full of dried fruit and nuts, mixed with M&Ms to please the palate. Our fruit leather comes in tasty strips and rolls. And if you’re looking for treats to add to lunch boxes, see our sample sizes!

6. Liver Awareness Month: For good liver health, you have a number of snacks to choose from. Goji berries are not only considered an anti-aging antioxidant, but also may help protect the liver. Dried papaya helps regulate the endocrine system, which helps rebuild liver cells. The blue-green algae spirulina may help your liver balance your blood fat levels and decrease harmful cholesterol.

Our Health Nut and Registered Dietitian, Molly Morgan, answers our customers’ most pressing health and nutrition questions!

If you’d like Molly to answer one of your questions in a future blog post, please email your question to health@nuts.com. If we feature your question in The Nutty Scoop, we will also send you a pound of your favorite Nuts.com product.

Q: I eat a lot of almonds, goji berries, and pistacho nuts. Are they really as good for you as they say?

A: All nuts, including pistachios, can be part of a healthy eating routine, and which are best depends on what type of benefit you are looking for! For example, almonds have the highest calcium content, and walnuts are highest in omega-3 fats. My best tip is to swap up the type of nuts you eat to gain the maximum benefits from all the varieties.

Goji berries have a lot of vitamin A, about 170 percent of the daily value per serving! Vitamin A is linked to boosting the immune system and eyesight.

You may also want to check out the recent infographic from Nuts.com that has an overview on the nutrition features of several types of nuts.

Q: I am diabetic. What is the best nut to snack on to control my sugar level?

A: When looking for a snack that will help control blood sugar levels, you should select a snack with high quality carbohydrates (at least 2-3 grams or more fiber per serving). Foods with fiber will help to slow down the digestion of food in your body and should aid in slowing the release of sugars into blood.

Here are a few snacks to try:

Chia Energy Squares: These have 3 grams of fiber per serving, plus the sweetness comes only from dried fruit: these have no added sweeteners!

Freeze Dried Strawberries: These have 3 grams of fiber per serving and only 8 grams of carbohydrates. The best part is that the only ingredient on the list is strawberries! They are available in other varieties as well, like Simply Blueberries, Simply Cherries, Simply Raspberries, and more.

Something else to consider is combining carbohydrates (such as dried fruit) with protein (such as dry roasted edamame or nuts). This mix contains fiber from the dried fruit and the nuts, and the protein will help in further balancing out blood sugar levels. Try your favorite combination of nuts and dried fruit from Nuts.com and have a handful as a quick snack! A favorite of mine is Berry Mix combined with dry roasted edamame.