Stone Age man was probably too busy wrestling sabre tooth tigers, hunting, fishing and gathering to play even the most primitive game of cricket. He was pretty fit and strong though, so maybe we can learn a thing or two from his way of life.

One of the staples of his diet was plain old nuts.

He was certainly onto something, because research since has shown that raw nuts are quite the superfood. The boffins tell us that adding nuts to your diet leads to:

• Improved body composition. Eating nuts boosts your metabolism leading to lower body fat levels and improved lean muscle. They also fill you up making you less likely to overeat.
• Better digestion. Nuts are high in fibre so when combined with green vegetables and raw fruit can prevent or even cure minor digestive issue. Yes, they make you go to the loo.
• Improved heart health. The healthy fats and vitamin E in nuts have been show to improve a range of heart health indicators including lowering cholesterol. Long term studies have also seen nut eaters have up to 50% less lower risk.
• Portable. You can take nuts anywhere to snack on, making them just as easy to eat as a chocolate bar and guilt free too.

So unless you have an allergy, get your nuts every day. About an ounce (28g) spread over the day should give you all the benefits.

Walnuts (also high in Omega 3), almonds, brazil nuts, macadamias, pistachios, cashews, hazelnuts, and pecans are all good for you as long as they are the raw type (not roasted and salted as the processing takes away some goodness). Peanuts, although not technically nuts, have been shown to have the same benefits.

Personally I'm partial to natural peanut butter (no added sugar), often stealing a scoop right out of the jar to get my fix. Pecans also go really well with salmon.

Image credit: law_keven