Nuts, as Jack on Will & Grace once said, are nothing more than little pellets of fat and breath. Funny, but wrong. Over the past decade, studies have shown that eating nuts protects against heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Even better, researchers now speculate that, rather than expanding your waistline, eating nuts may help you keep off the kilos. Enjoy these top six picks in your nut mix.

1st place
Almonds
Per 30g serving: 725kJ • 15.2g fat
Almonds have nearly nine times more (healthy) monounsaturated fat than dangerous saturated fat, says Dr Joan Sabaté, chair of nutrition at California's Loma Linda University, US. With plenty of protein, fibre, calcium and iron and no cholesterol, almonds are also one of the best sources of vitamin E, which protects against stroke and cancer.

2nd place
Walnuts
Per 30g serving: 855kJ • 17g fat
Walnuts are unique among nuts because they're loaded with the same heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids as salmon (but these taste better with chocolate). In more good fat news, walnuts also have an abundance of polyunsaturated fat, which may protect against type 2 diabetes.

3rd place
Pistachios
Per 30g serving: 700kJ • 13.3g fat
Recently reported to have the highest level of LDL-lowering plant sterols (they help regulate cholesterol) by researchers at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, US, pistachios are a great source of potassium. They're also high in monounsaturated fat, with nearly as much as almonds.

4th place
Peanuts
Per 30g serving: 712kJ • 14.8g fat
Research finds that these legumes (they're not actually nuts) are good for keeping cholesterol levels at bay. These impostors also provide more protein (7.7g per serving) than true nuts.

5th place
Hazelnuts
Per 30g serving: 789kJ • 18.2g fat
Along with one of the highest ratios of good fat to bad, hazelnuts are packed with folate, a vitamin that protects against birth defects and possibly cancer and heart disease.

6th place
Pecans
Per 30g serving: 867kJ • 21.6g fat
Dr Sabaté points to these as a good choice for fighting high cholesterol - they're high in unsaturated fat and lower in bad saturated fat than other nuts. Er, no, that's not the case if you get your dose via pecan pie.

Nut nugget
With their high fat content, nuts turn rancid quickly unless stored in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. In the fridge they'll keep well for four months; in the freezer they'll go six, says Sharon Natoli, WH's nutrition expert and director of Food & Nutrition Australia. If you're chewing a rancid nut - you'll be able to tell because they taste foul - spit it out. Stale nuts can cause problems like irritation of the stomach and intestines, and they may be carcinogenic. So we say buy 'em like you should eat 'em... in small amounts.