Looking for a new food to incorporate into your heart healthy diet? Consider going "nuts."

Nuts contain unsaturated fatty acids and other nutrients which lower your Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or “bad” cholesterol. High levels of LDL in your blood are a primary cause of heart disease. Nuts also reduce the risk of developing blood clots that could cause both heart attack and stroke.

Many nuts are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, a healthy form of fatty acid. Also found in fish, Omega-3s prevent dangerous heart rhythms leading to heart attack. Nut nutrients increase the health of your inner artery walls and provide dietary fiber, which helps prevent diabetes.

Studies have demonstrated that adults with a high blood cholesterol level can lower both their total and LDL cholesterol levels by substituting nuts for other snack foods.

However, nuts should be integrated with a well-rounded heart-healthy diet. Unsaturated fats should replace saturated fats in your current diet. Eating approximately 1-2 ounces of nuts daily can improve your heart health. Nuts covered in sugar, chocolate or other heavily saturated fats will cancel out the nutritional benefits.

The nuts category encompasses some foods that aren't true nuts but have been given honorary status due to their similar nutritional qualities. These include the peanut (a type of legume), the Brazil nut, and the cashew (both technically seeds).

Nuts are rich in protein and offer a host of other nutrients, such as folate, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, zinc, and selenium. When having a snack, consider that nuts, dense with nutrients, will control hunger with fewer calories comparatively with other snack foods.

So whether walnuts, macadamia, hazelnuts or pecans – almost every type of nut increases the health benefit for your heart compared to a less healthy snack.