Answer:
Dear
Stephanie,
Pecans
are a high protein and dietary fiber food source. Antioxidants make
pecans a heart healthy snack to lower cholesterol.
The only
major tree nut that grows naturally in North America.
Added
to any dish, pecans are a nutritional and gastronomic enhancement.
They can be added to soups, salads, appetizers, main dishes, grain
and legume.
New research,
published in the August 2006 issue of Nutrition Research, shows that
adding just a handful of pecans to your diet each day may be help
inhibit unwanted oxidation of blood lipids, thus helping prevent heart
disease. The researchers suggest that this positive effect was in
part due to the pecan’s significant content of vitamin E –
an antioxidant. Pecans contain different forms of vitamin E, which
protects blood lipids from oxidation.
Pecans
can double the cholesterol-lowering effectiveness of a traditional
heart-healthy diet, according to a study published in The Journal
of Nutrition
Researchers
at Loma Linda University found a diet containing pecans not only lowered
total and LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, twice that of the AHA
diet, but the pecan diet also helped to maintain desirable levels
of HDL, or "good" cholesterol.
Eating
a handful of pecans each day could help reduce the threat of heart
disease.
Technology
and marketing the nutritional value of pecans have been vital to the
pecan industry's growth.
Nutrition
Facts of 1 oz (20 halves) (28.3 g) of Pecans are
Calories
196
Calories
from Fat
183 % Daily Value*
Total
Fat
20.4g
31% Daily Value*
Saturated
Fat
1.7g
9% Daily Value*
Polyunsaturated
Fat
6.1g
Monounsaturated
Fat
11.5g
Cholesterol
0mg
0% Daily Value*
Sodium
0mg
0% Daily Value*
Total
Carbohydrates
3.9g
1% Daily Value*
Dietary
Fiber
2.7g
11% Daily Value*
Sugars
1.1g
Protein
2.6g
Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 1%
Calcium 2% • Iron 4%
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet
