Nuts are a common part of Indian cuisine and are considered to be snacks in most Indian households. In some cases, they are also used as an ingredient during cooking, to add some volume or tone down the taste of a dish that you are preparing. However, many are still ignorant about the health benefits of nuts, and consider it to be high in fats.
Nuts are technically fruits, although they lack the characteristic sweetness that most fruits have. The types of nuts available easily are many and include cashew nut, almond nuts, brazil nuts, groundnut, pistachio nuts and many others. Theoretically, peanuts cannot be included in the list of nuts since it is actually a legume, like peas or beans – however, the similarity in characteristics and nutrition profiles mean that it is considered to be a nut too.
So why should you appreciate nuts more? Read on to find out.
Benefits of Consuming Nuts
• If you are consuming mixed nuts, the benefits are many for you. Each type of nuts has its own nutrient profile, with some of them being higher than the others in important minerals like Manganese, Selenium and Copper. For example, consuming just one Brazil nut a day gives you more than enough of the amount of selenium the body requires for the day. The carbohydrate content present in the nuts are also extremely variable, and nuts like hazelnuts and macadamia have less than 2 grams per serving – on the other hand, cashews have almost 8 grams per serving. In general, nuts are great to consume if you are looking to maintain a low carb diet.
• Nuts have a high anti-oxidant content, which is beneficial to you in a lot of ways. Anti-oxidants are responsible for controlling the free radicals present in the body, and too many free radicals produced within the body could lead to oxidative stress and a higher susceptibility to diseases. A compound called polyphenol found in nuts is especially beneficial in terms of neutralising these free radicals. They protect cells and LDL cholesterol from damage, too.
• Considering the calorie count of nuts, you might have thought that it is not a great choice if you are looking to lose weight through controlling eating. However, studies have shown that nuts, despite the calorie count it has, do actually promote weight loss over weight gain. This is because much of the calories present in nuts are not absorbed by the body, but remains trapped in between the fibrous walls during digestion.
• Studies have shown that important markers among diabetics, like blood sugar levels, blood pressure and the other ones improve significantly once nuts are made a part of their regular diet. Therefore, nuts can help reduce the risk of type II diabetes in the person.
If you are looking to start eating healthily, you should look to buy mixed nuts from BigBasket! Nuts make for an amazing snack, considering the number of nutrients they have. However, like any food item, they must be consumed in moderation too.