Description

The pecan is a delicious nut that, like other types of nuts, owes much of its flavour to its high fat content, most of it in the form of heart-healthy monounsaturated oleic acid.

Although this translates to a high calorie count, the pecan's endowment of macro- and micro-nutrients justifies its caloric price tag.

Pecans' concentration of monounsaturated fat and beta-sitosterol are two potential reasons why, in a study recently conducted at New Mexico State University, pecans significantly lowered LDL cholesterol.

Despite the fact that, each day, the subjects in the pecan treatment group consumed about **0 grams of pecans, which delivered **9 calories and *4 grams of fat, their body mass index and weight remained unchanged.

This shows that the healthy fats in pecans do not translate into unhealthy excess fat stores in human beings. One reason may be that pecans add richness, palatability and make you fill fuller for longer - three factors that can help stick to a heart-healthy way of eating.

Pecans contain both the alpha- and gamma-tocopherol forms of vitamin E and they remain unchanged regardless of the year, variety of pecan or region where it's grown.