{"id":330351,"date":"2025-12-05T23:11:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T23:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/330351\/"},"modified":"2025-12-05T23:11:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T23:11:09","slug":"are-pecans-good-for-you-plus-how-much-protein-they-have","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/330351\/","title":{"rendered":"Are pecans good for you? Plus, how much protein they have"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"play\"<\/p>\n

Starbucks hopes to bounce back with a jolt of protein power<\/p>\n

Starbucks is rolling out new protein-infused drinks it hopes will reverse the trend and lead to improved sales.<\/p>\n

Straight Arrow News<\/p>\n

Whether you pronounce them pee-cans or pee-cahns, those nuts in your favorite holiday pie are actually a nutrient-dense whole food.<\/p>\n

Of course, eating them in pecan pie<\/a> form, which adds high amounts of sugar<\/a> and fat, isn\u2019t the healthiest way to consume them. But nutrition experts say the nut itself, which can also be enjoyed on its own or as toppings to salads, oatmeal<\/a> and other dishes, can pack a nutrient-filled punch any time of year.<\/p>\n

Pecans are full of nutrients like \u201ccalcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin E and zinc, all of which can help improve blood sugar control, brain health, heart health and more,\u201d\u00a0says Laura Ligos, a registered dietitian nutritionist.<\/p>\n

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture<\/a>, pecans also contain high amounts of biotin, which helps with metabolism health and contributes to better skin and hair as well as phosphorus, which helps maintain developmental tissue, stronger teeth and bones.<\/p>\n

“Pecans are also a good source of phytonutrients,” Kristina Petersen, an assistant professor of nutritional sciences at Texas Tech University, previously told USA TODAY. “Clinical trials show that intake of pecans improves cholesterol levels including lowering LDL cholesterol, which is a key risk factor for heart disease.”<\/p>\n

Pecans can also improve insulin resistance in people who are overweight or obese, which may reduce risk of type 2 diabetes,\u201d Petersen added.<\/p>\n

Noted: How to bake pecan pie, according to pastry chefs<\/a><\/p>\n

How many pecan nuts should you eat a day?<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s certainly safe to eat pecans every day, it depends how many you’re consuming.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile nuts are healthy for you, they can also be calorically dense and lack adequate protein and carbohydrates for a balanced diet,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

The USDA suggests a serving of nuts is one ounce or about a small handful.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough the calorie content depends on the variety, on average, this provides 150 to 200 calories per serving which is similar to that provided by a portion of less nutritious snack chips,\u201d the site notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Heads up: Too many added sugars in your diet can be dangerous. This should be your daily limit.<\/a><\/p>\n

What are the cons of pecans?<\/p>\n

To get the health benefits of pecans without going overboard on calories, experts suggest being mindful of portion size.<\/p>\n

For example, 1 cup of shelled pecan halves provides about nine grams of protein but also around 700 calories, which is more than 1\/4 of the 2,000 calories recommended for most people to get in a full day.<\/p>\n

Consumers should also be cautious of added ingredients to pre-packaged pecans, “because some options include coatings of unhealthy oils and sugar, which can add empty calories to your diet,\u201d Kristen Smith, a registered dietitian nutritionist, previously told USA TODAY.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As long as you keep these considerations in mind, pecans are a \u201cdelicious and nutritious snack option,\u201d Smith said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Starbucks hopes to bounce back with a jolt of protein power Starbucks is rolling out new protein-infused drinks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":330352,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[448,6634,617,64,63,153972,42641,8118,1786,184831,1298,23282,3172,1295,57116,61462,137,5023,51623,31401,170269,619,8117,8130,322,14548,14549,47451,324,532,1787,323,335,451,184832,321,439,170268,8116,8129,112437,142367,1996,3370,183878,320,319,333,39,1785,14546,441,6620,537],"class_list":{"0":"post-330351","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-affiliate","9":"tag-agriculture","10":"tag-and","11":"tag-au","12":"tag-australia","13":"tag-baked","14":"tag-baked-goods","15":"tag-curious","16":"tag-department","17":"tag-desserts","18":"tag-diet","19":"tag-diet-and-nutrition","20":"tag-events","21":"tag-food","22":"tag-foods","23":"tag-goods","24":"tag-health","25":"tag-holiday","26":"tag-holiday-marketplace-hub","27":"tag-holidays","28":"tag-holidays-u0026-seasonal-events","29":"tag-hub","30":"tag-just","31":"tag-just-curious","32":"tag-local","33":"tag-local-affiliate-food","34":"tag-local-affiliate-health-and-wellness","35":"tag-marketplace","36":"tag-neutral","37":"tag-nutrition","38":"tag-of","39":"tag-overall","40":"tag-overall-neutral","41":"tag-overall-positive","42":"tag-pecans","43":"tag-point","44":"tag-positive","45":"tag-seasonal","46":"tag-seo","47":"tag-seo-wellness","48":"tag-snack","49":"tag-snack-foods","50":"tag-tech","51":"tag-texas","52":"tag-texas-tech-university","53":"tag-the","54":"tag-to","55":"tag-to-the-point","56":"tag-top-stories","57":"tag-u-s","58":"tag-u-s-department-of-agriculture","59":"tag-u0026","60":"tag-university","61":"tag-wellness"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/330352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}