Pecans: Friend or Foe?

It's no secret that I've gotten a little pudgy around the middle, but eating through your thrice-weekly hangovers will do that to you. While rooting around my parents' freezer the other day, I discovered my father's candy bar selection. (It's actually not that hard to find. It has completely taken over both shelves, and edged out my small container of flax seed, which now hides underneath the defunct ice maker. Depressing visual, I know.) My mother, who can hear the sound of a refrigerator door opening from two floors away, suddenly appears and says, "That's how I got fat." Now the woman is certainly not fat. For a while she was rocking a BMI (body mass index, a highly inaccurate measurement to determine if someone is a healthy weight) that put her in the "needs to be hospitalized within the week" zone. However, she's not as slim as last year.

So I thought about it... Could candy bars and my Seamlessweb addiction be responsible for our added girth? Certainly. But what about breakfast?

We eat Greek yogurt for breakfast. There's nothing wrong with the yogurt - it's the pecans we've been adding for a satisfying crunch. At 196 calories per ounce, and 20.5 grams of fat, we're basically begging for the bulge. An ounce of pecans is approximately 30 grams. Grab a small handful and toss them on a food scale, and you will easily reach 30 grams, if not more. I've been limiting myself to 10 grams lately, and I've got like six pecans topping my protein-packed treat.

Pecans are part of a nutritious diet. They are a good source of protein and unsaturated fats. Pecans are rich in omega-6 fatty acids, and have antioxidants and plant sterols that can reduce LDL cholesterol levels. Pecans are good for you, but only if you can recognize a serving size.

Verdict: FOE