Go Nuts You Health Nuts!

Calling all Health Nuts!

If you’re like me, one of your go-to snacks is probably one or two (ok, let’s be honest…or three) handfuls of nuts. My favorite are roasted, unsalted almonds. But not all nuts are created equal! Thank to aloha.com, here is everything you need to know the next time you are headed down the nut aisle…

Almonds

Best Benefit: More calcium than any other nut—385mg per cup. That’s more than the amount of calcium in a cup of milk and about 39% of your daily calcium needs.

Serving Size: 23 almonds (163 calories)

Did You Know? Almonds are in the peach family; the seed of the almond fruit is actually what we call the nut.

Brazil Nut

Best Benefit: Richest dietary source of magnesium (107mg/ounce) and selenium (about 90mcg/nut). Best when consumed in moderation, as the tolerable upper intake level of selenium is 400 micrograms per day—anything above could cause potentially harmful side effects.

Serving Size: 6 Brazil nuts (186 calories)

Did You Know? The pod of the Brazil nut actually contains 8 to 24 seeds (what we consider the nut). Due to the their high fat content, Brazil nuts go bad pretty quickly. So store them in cool, dry places.

Cashew

Best Benefit: Lowest fat per ounce. Rich in mineral copper, an essential component of many enzymes.

Serving Size: 16-18 cashews (157 calories)

Did You Know? Cashews are always sold shelled because the interior of their shells contains a toxic resin that must be carefully removed before they are safe for consumption. The cashew is a distant relative to poison ivy and sumac, so even its foliage must be handled with care.

Hazelnut

Best Benefit: High in oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid, which helps to lower cholesterol. They also have a high concentration of vitamin E (4.26mg), second only to almonds.

Serving Size: 21 hazelnuts (180 calories)

Did You Know? A hazelnut is also known as a filbert. The name most likely originates from the day of St. Philibert, celebrated on the August 22, when the harvest of hazelnuts usually starts.

Macadamia Nut

Best Benefit: They are a rich source of energy, providing 718 calories/100g, one of the highest values among nuts, and a rich source of healthy monounsaturated fatty acids

Serving Size: 10-12 macadamia nuts (204 calories)

Did You Know? Macadamia trees were imported to Hawaii in around 1882 as a windbreak for sugarcane, which was a major commercial export for Hawaii at the time.

Peanut

Best Benefit: Higher folate content (68mgc) than any of the tree nuts

Serving Size: 28 peanuts (166 calories)

Did You Know? Classified as legumes, peanuts contains cancer-fighting compounds such as resveratrol and beta-sitosterol. Ancient Peruvians entombed peanuts with their mummies to nourish them in their journey to the afterlife.

Pecan

Best Benefit: Highest antioxidant content, with ORAC value of 17,940 μ mol TE/100g [ORAC, or oxygen radical absorbance capacity, is a system of measuring antioxidant capacities.]

Serving Size: 19 pecan halves (196 calories)

Did You Know? The name “pecan” is a Native American word that was used to describe “all nuts requiring a stone to crack.” Pecan is the only tree nut native to the United States.

Pine Nut

Best Benefit: Appetite-suppressing nut, contains pinolenic acid, which makes you feel quickly satiated.

Serving Size: 167 kernels (191 calories)

Did You Know? Pine nuts grow under the scales of pinecones and have two shells.

Pistachio

Best Benefit: Highest potassium, with 295mg

Serving Size: 49 pistachios (162 calories)

Did You Know? The semi-opening of the shell led the pistachio to be termed the “smiling nut” in Iran and the “happy nut” in China.
Walnut

Best Benefit: The only nut that contains a significant amount of alpha-linolenic acid, a plant based omega-3 fatty acid. One ounce provides more than the recommended daily intake for men and women.

Serving Size: 14 walnut halves (185 calories)

Did You Know? The Greeks called the walnut “karyon,” meaning “head,” because the shell resembles a human skull and the walnut kernel looks like a brain.

For your best health bet, stick to raw or roasted unsalted choices! 

GO NUTS YOU HEALTH NUTS!