The Pecan - The healthy nut!
Pecans are a “Heart-Healthy” nut. This means that the fats contained in pecans are mostly unsaturated fats with less than ten percent saturated. Pecans also have no trans fat.
Pecans are also rich in antioxidants which promote healthy blood flow decreasing heart disease. Oxidation of blood lipids is damaging to health. Pecans have a considerable amount of vitamin E, an antioxidant. Antioxidants are often found in foods attributed to protecting against cell damage and can help fight diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer, and heart disease. A study by Iowa’s Women’s Healthy Study in 1996 showed that women who eat nuts regularly are forty percent less likely to die of heart disease and a similar study in 2002 by the Physician’s Health Study found that men who eat nuts have reduced risks of sudden cardiac death.
Pecans are amongst the “top category of foods to contain the highest antioxidant capacity.” Pecans have more antioxidants than almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, peanuts, pistachios, and walnuts.
