No nuts, no crunchy apples, no carrots, no hard grains. In the short hour that it took to stick braces on my teeth my diet abruptly changed to soft. As I tentatively nibbled through my first brace-filled meal I remembered those days as a dietitian on the geriatric ward, helping elderly people with sunken mouths and few teeth to order a soft diet. I never really appreciated how difficult and frustrating it was to be unable to chew or taste food – until now.

What I was most concerned about was how would I get enough fibre without my usual grainy toast, nutty muesli, crunchy fruit, and crisp vegetables?

After years of unfair persecution nuts are finally back on the healthy shopping list and not just as an occasional treat but as a daily prescription for good health. Most health authorities now recommend that we eat a handful of nuts a day. Not the salt-laden roasted nuts loitering beside your beer or the sticky chocolate coated, honey roasted types. We’re talking about natural, straight from the shell walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, macadamias, almonds, cashews and Brazils.

How can eating a handful of nuts a day help keep us healthy?