8 Healthy Nuts and Their Benefits
By TheListLady
Healthy Nuts and Benefits
Nuts are by far one of the healthiest snack foods, according to a variety of studies, and may even have more healthy benefits than many vegetables and fruits. In fact, walnuts provide necessary omega-3 fatty acids (good for the brain) for those who do not eat fish.
Nuts provide protein and, in moderation, are an ideal snack food offering satiety along with many healthy benefits.
Listed below are 8 healthy nuts and their benefits:
1 - Walnuts* - Boost the ability to recall - thanks to the omega-3 fatty acids. Walnuts contain more fatty acid than tuna and salmon - and no need to worry about mercury. Eating 1/4 cup daily provides the recommended daily amount needed to prevent depression and Alzheimer's.
2 - Almonds - Will help eliminate a headache - because, like aspirin, almonds contain salicylates, the same natural chemical that will reduce inflammation and block pain signals. Just a handful will provide the same benefit as two aspirins without the possibility of stomach upsets.
3 - Chestnuts** - Help ease stress - and are the only nut that contains vitamin C, a nutrient that helps ease stress. Chestnuts are also the nuts lowest in calories and fat. They can be eaten roasted, boiled or raw.
4 - Macadamia Nuts - Are good for the heart - due to the natural oils high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fat - which contain oleic fatty acids and palmitoleic fatty acids. Macadamia nuts have the highest amount of monounsaturated fatty acids in a natural food.
5 - Brazil Nuts - Reduce anxiety - due to their selenium. Just three Brazil nuts will give you a day's worth of this important mineral. Selenium has mood-boosting, and anti-anxiety properties.
6 - Pecans - Will lower cholesterol - because of their high amount of plant sterols, vitamin E, and beta-sitosterol - which is a cholesterol lowering compound. Pecans can lower LDL (bad) cholesterol by16 percent. Pecans also have a higher antioxidant content that other nuts.
7 - Cashews - Reduce the risk of heart disease - due to the monounsaturated fats which, in turn, help to lower bad cholesterol. Cashews are also rich in iron, phosphorus, magnesium, selenium and zinc, as well as phytochemicals and antioxidants beneficial in protecting us from cancer. The magnesium is good for bone growth.
Note: Referred to as a nut, the cashew nut is botanically known as a seed.
8 - Pine Nuts - Are appetite suppressor - because they are a good source of a polyunsaturated fat known as pinolenic acid, which stimulates secretion from a hormone produced in the intestines - and signals your brain that you are full. Pine nuts also slow down the rate of how quickly your stomach empties, helping you feel full longer.
Note: Referred to as nuts, pine nuts are actually seeds from pine cones.
Peanuts - Peanuts are often grouped in the nut category, but are not on the list because they are neither nuts or seeds, and are actually legumes (beans are legumes). However, they are worth listing with nuts due to their amazing anti-aging benefits. This is because peanuts have resveratrol - the flavonoid found in red wine and purple grape juice. Resveratrol helps to stave off age-related cell damage and boosts blood flow in the brain by as much as 30 percent which, in turn, reduces the risk of dementia and stroke. Peanuts also have over 30 vital nutrients and has a higher antioxidant content than apples, carrots and beets. Roasting the peanuts boosts their antioxidant content by as much as 22 percent.
*Where can you find quality shelled walnuts? In Korean markets. When I lived in Seoul, S. Korea, this was the nut of choice. A colleague told me the elders in her family would eat 2 to 3 each day just like a vitamin. Here is the U.S. when I step into a Korean supermarket I know I will find stacks of shelled walnuts, packed in containers. They are far better than what I usually find in the usual supermarket - maybe because of the regular turnover.
**Another treat in S. Korea was the roasted chestnuts sold on the street. I also boiled them and got a nice sweet treat.
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Comments
Thank you for sharing! Good to know.
Love nuts - and I keep a bowl of mixed nuts on my coffee table - a much better snack than eating junk while I watch tv - nuts are so satisfying. And yes a great place to get quality shelled walnuts is at the Korean markets - they taste so good!
Glad you included peanuts - yay! for the hub and rated up!
What a nutty hub. I love nuts... you could say I am nuts about them. At times I get a craving for something I can not find - a bag of peanuts always solves the urge.
I'll be looking for a Korean market. Love walnuts.
thanks for the info
Oh goody...now I can really enjoy all the different nuts...I seem to always have a stock of assorted ones on hand for whenever nothing else will do...I grab a handful or two or three and I am a happy camper! Only problem is the calories!
I love nuts and peanuts and I often eat them. I enjoy to read about things I love eat, I already knew that they are very good for our health, but I have learned many new things thanks to your Hub!
I'm nuts about nuts but I guess u already knew that from one of my hubs. Thanks for useful information, now, I've even more reasons to munch on them. Rated useful.
Being a nut fanatic, this is the kind of hub that I can truly benefit from. Of course I didn't need to hear about the health benefits, but the info surely came in handy. Especially where to find good shelled walnuts. Very, very good TheListLady.
Eight good reasons to kick the guilt to the curb! I did not know about almonds for headaches. I will try this!
Great useful and helpful info! bookmarked.
Oooh great hub. I love a list with everything in one place. I keep a bowl of nuts on the table with a nutcracker - makes me expend a little energy to crack them open. And yes 2-3 so satisfying.
Thanks a million and rated up!
Oh what great affirmations for me to refer to as I eat my nuts! I think I should get to eat twice as much since I can't eat chocolate and that is so not fair!
Great info and great presentation!
I am crazy over nuts too... and am I so glad to see the many benefits of these nuts. Give me all the good reasons to consume them ! Voted up !
I need to keep brazil nuts around my home 24/7 Hee!Hee! What great information. Rated it up and sharing on facebook. I love this!
Very good hub on the value of nuts. I love 'em! Did not know that peanuts are legumes and that they contain anti-aging benefits. Great hub and rated up! :)
I'm allergic to nuts but I always did wonder about their benefits. Thanks a bunch!
Nice and lots of informative article you actually shared in here.
Hi ! Excellent and Very Informative . Thanx a ton .
Great hub on all the nuts out there, I love nuts, my favorite are almonds and cashews, eat em every week. Thanks for sharing this informative hub. Voted Up and interesting.
Really it is a great useful information about eating the nuts,they contain a lot of protiens and vetamins and they boost the brain and memory.
thanks for sharing this great information, well i bed to differ with some of the comments about Korean walnuts, but believe me, walnuts from Kashmir, a place between India and Pakistan , are the best, we have about 15 varieties of walnuts, and do try them and see for yourselves
So true hersi - I'm having some almonds now because I am having some muscle pain. I do feel better.
Thanks malik - I will look out for the walnuts from Kashmir. It seems you can find everything here in New York City.
Thanks for the comments. Yay!
I didn't know that about almonds. I eat almonds every day. When I started eating nuts every day, I noticed a difference in certain health issues that I have had over the last 3 years. Amazing what certain nutritional deficiencies can cause and what eating natural foods can do to help. I just wish they weren't so expensive.
Thanks for all the great information.
Wow, these are all such great facts! I didnt know that Almonds can help with headaches!! I need to stock up!
Thanks for sharing!
So glad to read there are so many nut lovers out there. We should have known nature knows best. About almonds, it is because of the salicylic acid (which is in aspirin) that this nut helps alleviate headaches.
Thanks for the many comments.
That's very helpful information to every one specialy for health contious ppls..
thankyou
You're welcome Ankur - thanks for writing!
carrie450 16 months ago
Thanks for the valuable information Green Lotus. I'm going to try some of these, especially the walnuts.