It ain’t no secret that I’m a big nut aficionado. I love me my nuts. Basically, all of them. There’s not a day I don’t eat them. Henri, a classmate, friend and loyal fruitpursuit reader even gave me bags of nuts for my birthday. Talking about perception…
It wouldn’t feel right to just highlight the benefits of one nut, although all nuts have their own amazing nutritional profile. Instead, I’d like to talk about the magic powers of nuts in general today.
Let’s start with getting one thing out of the way: nuts are
not fattening! Because of their high fat content (60-75% calories from fat), nuts are often scolded; they would make you fat, contain too many calories, yadayada. But trust me: nuts are our friends, not foes. All you have to realize is this simple rule:
no whole food is fattening. Avocado’s coconuts, seeds, nuts, whole grains, they all improve health. Health includes a healthy weight. It’s the refined and processed crap that makes us overweight and sick.
“Repeat after me: nuts are our friends, not foes”
Study after study after study has shown the numerous health benefits of adding 2 hands of nuts to your daily diet. Yes, that might be quite some calories, but all test subjects seemed to maintain their current healthy weight, or even lose weight. Why? It seems that nuts are very filling and satisfying. Nuts may not have too big a volume, but because they’re full of nutrition, your bodies’ ‘full’ signal will go on much sooner. Interestingly, the calories in nuts are likely not efficiently absorbed by our bodies either. (This might not be the case when soaking nuts but I’m not sure). Lastly: nuts have a positive effect on our metabolisms. Research shows that people who eat nuts seem to have a lower body fat mass. So, eat your nuts!
“It is calculated that people who consume nuts daily, enjoy an extra 5 – 6 years free of coronary disease”
Frequent consumption of nuts (multiple times per week) has shown to decrease your risk for coronary artery disease (like atherosclerosis) by as much as 50(!) percent, and will lower your blood cholesterol levels (though this is not a benefit for vegans). Nuts lower your ‘bad’ cholesterol and increase your ‘good’ cholesterol. Nuts also appear to lower the risk for strokes, type 2 diabetes, dementia and gallstones.
“Nuts are packed with antioxidants, phytochemicals, phytosterols and essential minerals & fight off cancer”
Nuts are very good sources of healthy fats, protein, vitamin E, fiber and minerals like calcium, copper, magnesium and selenium. The phytosterols (plant sterols) block the absorption of cholesterol (animal sterols). Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant which battles premature aging and protects the skin from sun damage. Copper and magnesium fight off heart disease while the phytosterols together with lignans (plant estrogen) and certain acids in nuts have anti-cancer properties.
“The good kind of fat?”
Nuts contain mostly monounsaturated fats, some polyunsaturated fats (both the good kind) and very little saturated fats (the bad kind). Of course, they contain no trans fats whatsoever (the ugly kind).
“Raw, roasted or soaked?”
Always, always, buy raw, unsalted nuts. If you prefer them roasted it’s still better to do it yourself for roasted nuts can go rancid more quickly and we have no idea of how long nuts are kept by store owners or supermarkets. Both raw and roasted nuts seem to have the same health benefits regarding fighting off diseases. However, roasted nuts may contain acrylamide, a toxic compound formed when heating food (fried food like chips & fries are chockful of it). Acrylamide is dangerous to health and can be cancer inducing. Roasting nuts does however improve the iron content of nuts. Personally, I eat most nuts & nut butters raw (adding some salt or other flavor enhancers is a really good substitute for roasting!) but I also enjoy roasted nuts too much to never do it. So: roast wisely ;).
Soaking nuts is something a lot of people are not familair with, let alone the health benefits. You see, nuts are packed with nutrients but a lot of these nutrients, like calcium, are only for about 20% absorbed in the human body. Don’t be alarmed, this is the case for most foods (calcium in cow’s milk for comparison is 30% ‘bio available’, the calcium from spinach only 5%). Soaking (and sprouting) nuts, seeds, even legumes and grains greatly enhances the efficiency with which our bodies can absorb the nutrients from foods.
Soaking is real easy: place your nuts in a bowl with water so that the nuts are fully emerged. Place in the fridge overnight, or for 8-12 hours. You can eat/use them as is, or let them dry someplace. Store soaked nuts in the fridge (although all nuts are preferably stored in the fridge or even freezer, and in an airtight container or bag).
My current stash!
Can’t forget the nut butters…
“Almonds for calcium, Brasil nuts for selenium, walnuts for Omega-3″
Now I try not to, but I can’t help it sometimes playing favorites. The nuts I love most are almonds, cashews, pecans, hazelnuts and macademias. That is, when it comes to taste. Nutrition wise, here are the superstars:
Almonds: a cruelty free source of calcium
Have the highest calcium content of all nuts with 250 mg per 100 grams (4 ounces). Almonds are also very high in manganese, magnesium, Vitamin E,B2, copper and tryptophan (essential amino acid).
Cashews: nature’s prozac
Cashews are, like almonds, high in copper, magnesium and tryptophan and their sweet taste is a great base for many dessert like snacks. However the most cool thing about cashews? They contain a lot of niacin (B3) which has proven to prevent and treat depression. Two hands of cashews contain the therapeutic equavalent of Prozac, according to Dr Andrew Saul (Food Matters).
Walnuts: healthier than fish
Walnuts are an epic source of Omega-3. Did you however also know walnuts are rich of phytochemicals, most importantly flavanoids? Flavanoids have antioxidant capacities and reduce the risk of cardiovasculair disease (hart- en vaatziekten). Some of the phytochemicals, of which there are more than we can count, have to date only been found in walnuts! The phytochemicals in walnuts have shown to be protective of metabolic syndrome X and type 2 diabetes.
Brazil nuts: the most concentrated source of selenium there is
Brazil nuts are renown for their high selenium content; 2 to 3 nuts contain 100% of your daily selenium requirements! Selenium protects your cells from free radical damage (antioxidant property), makes sure our thyroid and thus our metabolism is working optimally and fights off joint inflamation (joint pain/swelling). (Brazil nuts = paranoten!)
A recipe starring one of my favorite nuts!
Savory Almond Butter (or: Better Than Paprika Chips Almond Butter)
Adapted (slightly) from Ashley
* 1.5 cups raw almonds
* 1/2 t spicey paprika powder (AH)
* 1/2 t smoke powder
* 1/4 t garlic powder
* 1/4 t salt
* 10 cracks of pepper
Preheat oven to 180 C/350 and roast almonds 15 minutes. Let cool down for 5 minutes. Process into nut butter using food processor or high speed blender. Nut butter should be smooth and creamy. Add spices and and blend again. Done!
This nut butter tastes like paprika chips, only better! The boy’s face lit up upon his first taste, so did mine.
Note: I buy smoke powder (with special thanks to Amber!) at Peperbol, which is situated at the Dutch Albert Cuyp market. I understand smoke extract and smoke oil are also readily available in, say, the States. By all means sub this! For those who can’t get their hands on any of these, use 1,5 t of spicy paprika powder!
What are your favorite nuts & why?
Love,
Sabine
It ain’t no secret that I’m a big nut aficionado. I love me my nuts. Basically, all of them. There’s not a day I don’t eat them. Henri, a classmate, friend and loyal fruitpursuit reader even gave me bags of nuts for my birthday. Talking about perception…
It wouldn’t feel right to just highlight the benefits of one nut, although all nuts have their own amazing nutritional profile. Instead, I’d like to talk about the magic powers of nuts in general today.“Repeat after me: nuts are our friends, not foes”
Study after study after study has shown the numerous health benefits of adding 2 hands of nuts to your daily diet. Yes, that might be quite some calories, but all test subjects seemed to maintain their current healthy weight, or even lose weight. Why? It seems that nuts are very filling and satisfying. Nuts may not have too big a volume, but because they’re full of nutrition, your bodies’ ‘full’ signal will go on much sooner. Interestingly, the calories in nuts are likely not efficiently absorbed by our bodies either. (This might not be the case when soaking nuts but I’m not sure). Lastly: nuts have a positive effect on our metabolisms. Research shows that people who eat nuts seem to have a lower body fat mass. So, eat your nuts!
“It is calculated that people who consume nuts daily, enjoy an extra 5 – 6 years free of coronary disease”
Frequent consumption of nuts (multiple times per week) has shown to decrease your risk for coronary artery disease (like atherosclerosis) by as much as 50(!) percent, and will lower your blood cholesterol levels (though this is not a benefit for vegans). Nuts lower your ‘bad’ cholesterol and increase your ‘good’ cholesterol. Nuts also appear to lower the risk for strokes, type 2 diabetes, dementia and gallstones.
“Nuts are packed with antioxidants, phytochemicals, phytosterols and essential minerals & fight off cancer”
Nuts are very good sources of healthy fats, protein, vitamin E, fiber and minerals like calcium, copper, magnesium and selenium. The phytosterols (plant sterols) block the absorption of cholesterol (animal sterols). Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant which battles premature aging and protects the skin from sun damage. Copper and magnesium fight off heart disease while the phytosterols together with lignans (plant estrogen) and certain acids in nuts have anti-cancer properties.
“The good kind of fat?”
Nuts contain mostly monounsaturated fats, some polyunsaturated fats (both the good kind) and very little saturated fats (the bad kind). Of course, they contain no trans fats whatsoever (the ugly kind).
“Raw, roasted or soaked?”
Always, always, buy raw, unsalted nuts. If you prefer them roasted it’s still better to do it yourself for roasted nuts can go rancid more quickly and we have no idea of how long nuts are kept by store owners or supermarkets. Both raw and roasted nuts seem to have the same health benefits regarding fighting off diseases. However, roasted nuts may contain acrylamide, a toxic compound formed when heating food (fried food like chips & fries are chockful of it). Acrylamide is dangerous to health and can be cancer inducing. Roasting nuts does however improve the iron content of nuts. Personally, I eat most nuts & nut butters raw (adding some salt or other flavor enhancers is a really good substitute for roasting!) but I also enjoy roasted nuts too much to never do it. So: roast wisely ;).
Soaking nuts is something a lot of people are not familair with, let alone the health benefits. You see, nuts are packed with nutrients but a lot of these nutrients, like calcium, are only for about 20% absorbed in the human body. Don’t be alarmed, this is the case for most foods (calcium in cow’s milk for comparison is 30% ‘bio available’, the calcium from spinach only 5%). Soaking (and sprouting) nuts, seeds, even legumes and grains greatly enhances the efficiency with which our bodies can absorb the nutrients from foods.
Soaking is real easy: place your nuts in a bowl with water so that the nuts are fully emerged. Place in the fridge overnight, or for 8-12 hours. You can eat/use them as is, or let them dry someplace. Store soaked nuts in the fridge (although all nuts are preferably stored in the fridge or even freezer, and in an airtight container or bag).
My current stash!
Can’t forget the nut butters…
“Almonds for calcium, Brasil nuts for selenium, walnuts for Omega-3″
Now I try not to, but I can’t help it sometimes playing favorites. The nuts I love most are almonds, cashews, pecans, hazelnuts and macademias. That is, when it comes to taste. Nutrition wise, here are the superstars:
Almonds: a cruelty free source of calcium
Have the highest calcium content of all nuts with 250 mg per 100 grams (4 ounces). Almonds are also very high in manganese, magnesium, Vitamin E,B2, copper and tryptophan (essential amino acid).
Cashews: nature’s prozac
Cashews are, like almonds, high in copper, magnesium and tryptophan and their sweet taste is a great base for many dessert like snacks. However the most cool thing about cashews? They contain a lot of niacin (B3) which has proven to prevent and treat depression. Two hands of cashews contain the therapeutic equavalent of Prozac, according to Dr Andrew Saul (Food Matters).
Walnuts: healthier than fish
Walnuts are an epic source of Omega-3. Did you however also know walnuts are rich of phytochemicals, most importantly flavanoids? Flavanoids have antioxidant capacities and reduce the risk of cardiovasculair disease (hart- en vaatziekten). Some of the phytochemicals, of which there are more than we can count, have to date only been found in walnuts! The phytochemicals in walnuts have shown to be protective of metabolic syndrome X and type 2 diabetes.
Brazil nuts: the most concentrated source of selenium there is
Brazil nuts are renown for their high selenium content; 2 to 3 nuts contain 100% of your daily selenium requirements! Selenium protects your cells from free radical damage (antioxidant property), makes sure our thyroid and thus our metabolism is working optimally and fights off joint inflamation (joint pain/swelling). (Brazil nuts = paranoten!)
A recipe starring one of my favorite nuts!
Savory Almond Butter (or: Better Than Paprika Chips Almond Butter)
Adapted (slightly) from Ashley
* 1.5 cups raw almonds
* 1/2 t spicey paprika powder (AH)
* 1/2 t smoke powder
* 1/4 t garlic powder
* 1/4 t salt
* 10 cracks of pepper
Preheat oven to 180 C/350 and roast almonds 15 minutes. Let cool down for 5 minutes. Process into nut butter using food processor or high speed blender. Nut butter should be smooth and creamy. Add spices and and blend again. Done!
This nut butter tastes like paprika chips, only better! The boy’s face lit up upon his first taste, so did mine.
Note: I buy smoke powder (with special thanks to Amber!) at Peperbol, which is situated at the Dutch Albert Cuyp market. I understand smoke extract and smoke oil are also readily available in, say, the States. By all means sub this! For those who can’t get their hands on any of these, use 1,5 t of spicy paprika powder!
What are your favorite nuts & why?
Love,
Sabine