Food for a Healthy Life by Blueprint - HTML preview

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CHAPTER 4: NUTS AND LEAN MEAT

Synopsis

Nuts are an important source of nutrients for both human and animal consumption. Being rich in a whole host of necessary nutrients it can be eaten in its raw form, cooked or as an additive to already pre existing dishes. Thought nuts are defined as a hard shelled fruit, there are many other foods that are included in the nut family.

Different types of meats generally contribute to a variety of flavors; however the healthiest type is the one with as much lean meat content as possible. Its undisputed fact that the meats that contain a good amount of fat are a culinary treat indeed but for health purposes taking the time to understand the benefits of consuming lean meats is very wise indeed.

Good Proteins And Oils

It is now common knowledge that nuts greatly help in keeping a lot of ailments in check or from occurring at all.

For instance, nuts have been known to be able to keep the possibility of coronary heart diseases manifesting, even for those whole come from a long line of family members with this problem.

Consuming nuts like almonds and walnuts have been known to lower serum cholesterol concentrations within the body system. Nuts are also highly recommended for those individuals suffering from insulin resistance problems like diabetics.

Turning to nuts rather that junk food to quell cravings is also another healthier alternative. Containing essential fatty acids is also another plus point when it comes to choosing nuts as a healthier alternative. Because nuts are healthy and can be consumed in its raw form, it is also another added advantage to keeping these around and handy as snacks.

Almonds are often used to normalize blood lipids because of their slow burn characteristics, which help to keep the blood sugar levels consistently healthy. Rich in a varied amount of different nutrients the almond is a popular additive to the stale diet of most Mediterranean people.

The Brazil nut is also another nutritious nut which comes with its own set of benefits when consumed in moderation. Noted for its omega 3 fatty acid content, the Brazil nut is also a good source of calcium.

Cashew nut is another very popular nut that is often consumed as a salted snack. However it would be a much healthier food product without the addition of salt, as it is already quite a flavorful nut on its own. In some parts of the world these nuts are made into oils.

The selection process should be done with a little knowledge as depending solely on what the naked eye perceives is not enough. Generally lean meats derived from beef cuts should include round, chuck, sirloin and tenderloin, while the cuts from pork or lamb would constitute tenderloin, loin chops and leg. The leanest parts of the poultry would be the breast area without the skin.

Though there are many reasons people eliminate meat from their daily diet, there is no evidence to show that this is a good or bad choice not should it be followed by all.

However the important point to note here is the choice of the types of meats that would make the consumption healthy and this would generally mean meats with lesser amount of fat content. Though white meat is by no means lacking in fat content, it is by comparison much less in fat content than red meats. The nutritional value of consuming lean meats is quite extensive and rounded.

Lean meats have a generally higher and purer content of protein which is a very important contributing factor to fundamental structural and functional progress of every cell sustenance and formation.

Lean meats are also a good source of essential amino acids particularly sulfur amino acids. When compared to the digestive rates the proteins in meats work faster than the one contained in the beans and whole wheat range.

Lean meat is also a good source of iron. Because iron deficiency is progressive it is often not detected until a later stage where anemia has developed.