Nuts and seeds meet many of today’s food industry trends, such as natural, clean label, plant-based, wholesome, healthy, inherently nutritional, and taste-pleasing. They are also sources of healthy fats, dietary fiber, protein, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
Nutritional Nuts
“Nuts are rich in important nutrients and dietary fiber,” says Sandra Arevalo Valencia, director of community & patient education at Montefiore Nyack Hospital and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. In addition to heart health and weight management, other areas of research are linking nuts to cognition and the gut microbiome. There is emerging evidence that consuming tree nuts reduces the incidence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and promotes diversity of gut microbiota, which in turn may help improve cardiovascular disease outcomes. High intake of nuts may protect older adults from cognitive decline.
Almonds
Almonds are one of the most popular nuts, both as a stand-alone snack and as an ingredient in foods and beverages. According to reports, almonds are the most popular nut in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and North America. Almonds are the tree nut highest in six essential nutrients, including protein (6 g), fiber (4 g), calcium (75 mg), vitamin E (7.4 mg), riboflavin (0.3 mg), and niacin (1 mg),” says Laura Gerhard, director of strategy and marketing for Blue Diamond Almonds Global Ingredients Division.
Almond consumption may reduce wrinkle severity in postmenopausal females to potentially have natural antiaging benefits. Various forms of almond ingredients, such as sliced, diced, slivered, flour, and almond protein powder, still harness the nutrition of almonds and offer versatility in formulations.
Walnuts
Walnuts are an excellent source of alpha-linolenic acid. This is one of the factors that contributes to the heart health benefits of walnuts. Research is looking at walnuts and the gut microbiome. It has been demonstrated that walnut consumption affected the composition and function of the human gastrointestinal microbiota, increasing the relative abundance of Firmicutes species and reducing microbially derived, pro-inflammatory secondary bile acids and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The results suggested that the gastrointestinal microbiota may contribute to the underlying mechanisms of the beneficial health effects of walnut consumption.
Pistachios
Pistachios are a complete and good source of protein that contain 6 g of protein and all the essential amino acids, according to American Pistachio Growers. They contain 13 g of fat per serving, with the majority (11.5 g) coming from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Something else to note about pistachios is that one serving of pistachios also contains 3 g of dietary fiber. A study concluded that a daily intake of 44 g of pistachios improved nutrient intake without affecting body weight or composition in healthy women. The additional calories provided by the pistachios helped induce satiety.
• Hazelnuts. Hazelnuts are high in fiber, thiamin, vitamin B6, vitamin E, and minerals such as potassium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, and manganese. Like other nuts, hazelnuts are high in monounsaturated fat. Hazelnuts are considered an excellent anti-inflammatory and hypolipidemic food, as they are the second-richest source of monounsaturated fatty acids among nuts and rich in vitamins, minerals, and phenolic compounds.
Satisfying seeds
Some of the popular seeds include sunflower, flax, hemp, chia, and pumpkin. They are typically eaten as stand-alone snacks, toppings on salads, or ingredients in healthy snacks such as granola or bars.
Flaxseed
Flaxseeds are known for their omega-3 fatty acid profile and lignan benefits. According to Flax Council of Canada, about 42% of flaxseed is oil and more than 70% of that oil is comprised of healthy polyunsaturated fatty acids. Flaxseed contains 55%–57% of the essential omega-3 fatty acid ALA.
Chia seed
Chia seeds are known for their omega-3 fatty acid content and dietary fiber. In addition, chia seeds are rich in vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin, and thiamin and have high concentrations of calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, iron, and zinc.
Hemp seed
Hemp seeds are rich in linoleic acid and ALAs and are a great source of protein, vitamin E, and minerals such as phosphorus, potassium, sodium, magnesium, sulfur, calcium, iron, and zinc. “Hemp seeds are a nutritional powerhouse. Unique to hemp seeds is the fatty acid profile combined with high-quality, digestible protein,” explains Ben Raymond, director of research and development for Victory Hemp Foods.
Sunflower seed
Sunflower seeds are packed with beneficial nutrients like healthy fats, protein, fiber, minerals, vitamin E, and phytochemicals. Sunflower seeds are the best whole food source of vitamin E, an antioxidant important to health, according to the US Dept. of Agriculture’s Nutrient Database. One ounce of oil-roasted sunflower seeds provides 76% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance for vitamin E, according to the National Sunflower Association.
