"You may be watching the unhealthy fats in your meals but have you thought about the snacks in between meals?" asks Tara Gidus Collingwood, M.S. an Orlando-based nutritional expert who is the team dietician for the Orlando Magic Basketball team. "Snacking is a good way to prevent overeating at meals by bridging your hunger, but if you have high cholesterol, fried chicken wings and potato chips aren't the way to go. Nuts are an ideal snack with many health benefits."

Nuts are a great snack that help lower your cholesterol because they are chock-full of healthful, monounsaturated fat. "Nuts can also help the bad cholesterol, or LDL, from oxidizing," says nutritionist Janet Bond Brill, PhD., author of "Cholesterol Down: 10 Simple Steps to Lower Your Cholesterol in 4 Weeks — Without Prescription Drugs."

They are also chock-full of vitamins and minerals like folic acid, vitamin E, vitamin B6, magnesium, potassium, copper, and zinc.

But not all nuts are created equal. Malina Perdomo, MS, R.D., a certified diabetes expert from Denver, Colorado, shares her top eight that have the best health benefits. Remember that an ounce serving for most nuts is how much you can hold in the palm of your hand, which is equal to about 10 to 14 pieces. Also avoid nuts that have added salt.

"As a dietitian I recommend snacking on a variety of nuts to get the full benefits of all their ingredients," she says.

Here are the eight healthiest snacks:

1. Almonds. Besides being rich in monounsaturated fats, almonds have more dietary fiber than other nuts and have the most protein and vitamin E of all tree nuts. Almonds may also reduce inflammation in people with diabetes.
2. Walnuts. These brain-shaped nuts actually do help improve cognitive function by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. They also fight inflammation.
3. Cashews. These tasty nuts have the highest amount of iron per ounce so if you are a vegetarian looking for sources of iron, these nuts are for you.
4. Hazelnuts. Hazelnuts contain lots of folate, which is great for pregnant women. They are also an excellent source of vitamin E.
5. Macadamia nuts. Although these nuts are highest in calories and fat, they are also the best source of monounsaturated fat which is great for folks on a ketogenic diet. The National Institutes of Health report that macadamia nuts modify the risk factors for coronary heart disease.
6. Pecans. A handful of pecans has under 200 calories and is a good source of dietary fiber. A study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics revealed that pecans can lower harmful LDL levels in the blood.
7. Pine nuts. These nuts that have been part of our diet as far back as 10,000 years ago are rich in vitamins E and K, along with the important minerals manganese, zinc, iron, and magnesium.
8. Pistachios. These tasty treats are highest in potassium per ounce and have the highest amount of vitamin E. According to a study conducted by the NIH, eating pistachio nuts decreased oxidative stress on the body and improved total cholesterol and HDL levels in heathy volunteers.