Nuts: why should we eat hazelnuts, cashews, and pistachios?

Rubryka

Alice Smahina

The health benefits of nuts to humankind have long been known. Doctors claim that if a person's diet is free of nuts, they lose invaluable nutrients that fight disease, can protect the heart, reduce cholesterol and stress, normalize weight, and more. All nuts are excellent sources of healthy monounsaturated fats, protein, fiber, and many different vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Nature has protected these unique treasures of various benefits. To split some of them, you need strong teeth or, in their absence, clever brains. Who knows, maybe nuts have become one of the engines of evolution; the age of the oldest tools to open nuts found by archaeologists is estimated at 780,000 years, that is, the ancestors of intelligent humans began to eat nuts long before homo sapiens was born.

Fortunately, nuts can now be purchased peeled. And whatever kind of nuts you choose, thanks to their super-nutritious properties and bright taste, these superfoods can be both a perfect snack and a "highlight" of any complex dish.

Many of what we used to call nuts are not nuts. For example, peanuts are legumes, such as peas or beans. And almonds are related to peaches and plums. We just eat the seeds, not the flesh of the fruit of this plant. Coconut is also not a nut or a fruit, but a kernel, an edible kernel, the same as a cherry or apricot kernel. From the point of view of botany, one hundred percent nut is not even walnut, but a hazel, or its more cultured relative, hazelnut. From a gastronomic point of view, it's not significant. All nuts are equally delicious. Despite that, they differ in composition and their most important properties. Vita Ivankiv, a dietitian, helped Rubryka to find out what is special about each of the popular nuts and how to use them properly.