Nuts appear to one of those wonder foods. They’re full of nutrition including healthy fats. And another study just published in the Archives of Internal Medicine confirm that eating nuts helps lower cholesterol and triglycerides.

In 2003 the FDA allowed a food label stating that eating 1.5 ounces daily of most nuts (in conjunction with a healthy diet) may reduce the risk of heart disease. This study found that eating 2.4 ounces worked even better.

But keep in mind, that doesn’t mean to go wild with nuts…they are very caloric and if you eat them by the jarful, you’re likely to plump up, which certainly isn’t good for your cholesterol.

The findings in the study applied to tree nuts like almonds, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, macadamias, and peanuts (which technically aren’t nuts but still give the same effect). So go ahead, enjoy a handful of nuts for your afternoon snack and sprinkle them on your salads!