Healthy nuts: the best

What are the best healthy nuts available in the market? The perfect answer is currently not available.

According to one study, about 32% of the nuts consumed were peanuts, 16% walnuts, 29% almonds, and 23% other types. But the researchers couldn’t judge whether these nuts were oil-roasted, dry-roasted, or fresh.

According to another study, peanuts, technically known as “vegetables,” help reduce risks of heart disease like tree nuts. The experiments were carried out by giving dry fruits to volunteers in the daily diet for a couple of weeks.

Almonds, walnuts, peanuts, hazelnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, and pistachios all affect blood composition in different ways, reducing the risks of coronary heart disease. Chestnuts, having little fat, are still not adequately studied.

The advice is to eat different varieties of nuts. Walnuts can be beneficial as they include n-3 fatty acids. Coconuts should be avoided as they contain highly saturated fats.

Still, why are nuts called health-promoting foods? Nuts have high levels of unsaturated fat and low levels of saturated fat. Compared to other fatty acids, walnuts lower blood cholesterol level to reduce the risk of heart disorders. That’s good.

Although nuts are good sources of vitamin E, fiber, copper, folic acid, amino acids, arginine, and magnesium, they help prevent heart disease. Nuts are therefore a good dietary source of boron, manganese, and include plant sterols.

In New Zealand, nuts are eaten less often or in the form of peanut butter. They are often incorporated into food products. Various recipes include nuts in cakes, soups, homemade bread, sauces, main dishes, salads, fillings, and desserts.

For example, baklava, pesto, and Waldorf salad are all well known and contain nut variants. On the Internet, there are many recipes available with walnuts, say RecipeSource and Epicurious.

In New Zealand and Australia, a food company called Sanutarium makes Nutmeat and Nutolene, which are peanut-based meat substitutes. Here in the US, natural peanut butters and omega-3 peanut butters are on the market for those watching their weight.

Peanut, cashew, almond, and hazelnut nut butters are so flavorful. Commercial peanut butters contain extra saturated fat to make them healthier. Unfortunately, salt is added which can be harmful for people with high blood pressure. These butters can easily be made at home by toasting, grinding, and then blending the nuts together.

Nuts are a main component of the Healthy Eating Pyramid. Peanut butter is helpful for weight loss, although it should be eaten in moderation. A new product, Smart Balance, has a low-fat, non-hydrogenated peanut butter version. I use it and I think it tastes wonderful, plus there’s no refrigeration needed and it doesn’t separate like many natural peanut butters do. Almonds were a main part of the ‘Portfolio’ diet which lowered cholesterol as a drug Lovastatin.

Through American and British surveys, it was found that among hundreds of people, one or two may be allergic. This problem has appeared in many schools where peanut butter is sometimes prohibited due to the possible allergic reaction that children can have, even to the smell.

Both adults and children can be affected by symptoms such as hoarseness in the throat, skin rash, swollen skin, tight airways, and in rare cases, death. But for the majority of the population, nuts turn out to be health-promoting foods.

Healthy Nuts: Walnuts

You may be wondering when you see the title, “Healthy Nuts.” But it is true. By including a small handful of nuts in your routine diet, you will realize its benefits.

Walnuts contain vegetable protein, folacin, dietary fiber, magnesium, iron, thiamine, niacin, vitamin E, vitamin B6, potassium, and zinc, which are beneficial for health.

They have alpha linolenic acid (ALA), which is a fatty acid (omega-3) and reduces the risk of heart disorders, stroke, cancer, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and depression. Omega-3s are necessary for healthy brain and nervous system function.

Therefore, to achieve good health, walnuts are a super food that must be included in our daily diet. So, we should go crazy for nuts.

Mainly, nuts contain fatty acids. They contain generous amounts of mono- and polyunsaturated fats. Essential Fatty Acids such as linoleic and alpha-linoleic acid are necessary for our body and are needed on a daily basis.

These are useful for 3 purposes:

1. Manufacture of some hormones

2. Part of the cell membrane

3. Regulation of cholesterol.

Alpha-linolenic acid, which is an Omega-3 fatty acid, contains anti-inflammatory action. Therefore, the walnut is very useful in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and itchy skin conditions. Symptoms like dry skin, shows deficiency of fatty acids.

Unsaturated fats become useful in lowering blood cholesterol and reducing the risk of heart disease, with an increase in HDL and a reduction in LDL.

The walnut also contains a good amount of protein and calories. In 100 g, walnuts contain 1523 g of protein.

People with a poor appetite, sometimes malnourished, find that incorporating nuts into their daily diet helps maintain the number of calories needed per day.

Caution: Nuts that have a bitter taste should not be eaten.

Ways to eat nuts:

o Eat delicious fresh shelled nuts.

o Toasted or roasted they are eaten as healthy snacks.

o When they are raw, you can add them to salads

o When they are cooked, enjoy them with pasta or rice pilaf or as a filling.

o When it is chopped, it can be added to the peat or to the apple.

o They can also be used in the preparation of cakes, cookies, muffins and breads

Walnut oil is very beneficial in salads, but when heated, its reaction is not adequate.

Nuts can be chopped by:

1. hand

2. Blender

3. Food processor

Chop them only when they are ready to use, as they can go rancid quickly.

Ways to roast nuts

1. Spread out on a baking sheet.

2. Put them in the oven at 300 degrees for 20 minutes or more until the color turns light brown.

3. Put them in little oil to toast.

4. Sprinkle some cinnamon sugar over them for a sweet touch. Freeze them in freezer bags for a treat at a later date.