WHY WE THINK IT’S HEALTHY:

Nuts are a convenient snack that provide us with healthy monounsaturated fats, protein, vitamin E, fiber and some omega-3 fatty acids. Nuts have been shown to reduce our risk of developing blood clots and to lower LDL cholesterol levels. Glaze them in soy sauce or coat them in maple candy, and they automatically become tantalizing.

WHY IT’S NOT:

Nuts are definitely healthy when eaten in moderation, but it all goes out the window the minute you coat it with a sweet or salty glaze, candy, milk chocolate, or spicy powders.But not all flavoured nuts are bad. Some roasted nuts retain their nutritional content to some degree, but some unsaturated fats are destroyed while a bit of trans fats are formed in the process.

Make sure to choose dry-roasted nuts instead of oil roasted, which is really just deep-frying in oil. Commercial smoked almonds typically have added oil, salt, preservatives and smoke flavouring, which significantly decreases the nutritional value. Make sure to check out the ingredient list for the sugar, salt and oil content. Anything with hydrogenated soybean or vegetable oil or high-fructose corn syrup shouldn’t enter your shopping cart. If you want to go nuts over nuts, roast your own in the oven with seasonings like cayenne pepper, curry, cumin, cinnamon, pepper, wasabi, ginger or even hot sauce.