Nutritional comparison of 22 kinds of nuts, you will never guess the first one!

During festivals, nuts are the most popular snack for entertaining guests. Eating nuts and chatting with them is a great way to communicate with each other and relieve stress. However, there are many types of nuts, and the key is to choose the right ones and eat them right!

This article analyzes a total of 22 kinds of nuts, compares their various nutrients, and finally recommends 11 kinds of nuts that are most worth eating. Take a look and see if there are any that you often eat.

From a nutritional perspective, cooked cashews, flax seeds, chia seeds, almonds, and pine nuts are all nutritious.

We also compared the individual nutrients of each nut and selected the best of each for your reference:

First place for protein content: pumpkin seeds

First place for dietary fiber content: Chia seeds

No. 1 for Vitamin E content: Sunflower seeds

No. 1 in Potassium: Hazelnuts (dried)

No. 1 for magnesium content: cooked cashews

No. 1 for zinc content: raw pine nuts

No. 1 in calcium content: black sesame

No. 1 in Selenium Content: Brazil Nut

No. 1 for "oleic acid content": Pecan (cooked)

No. 1 for omega-3 fatty acids: flaxseed

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Nuts, I really recommend you eat them every day!

There are two attitudes towards nuts. Some people think they are "healthy foods", while others say they are "calorie bombs". In fact, I really recommend you eat more nuts! Although they are high in calories, eating them in moderation is very good for your health.

1. Nutrition

Most nuts are rich in nutrients such as protein, dietary fiber, potassium, magnesium, zinc, selenium, B vitamins, vitamin E, unsaturated fatty acids, etc.

2. Benefits to the body

Eating nuts regularly can help us resist oxidation and inflammation, help control blood pressure, maintain stable blood sugar, prevent cardiovascular disease, etc.

Nuts are an important part of a balanced diet, but most people don’t eat enough of them. Data shows that the average nut intake per standard person in my country is insufficient, accounting for only 36% of the corresponding recommended amount in the dietary guidelines.

The Chinese Dietary Guidelines recommend eating 50 to 70 grams of nuts per week, which averages out to about 10 grams per day , which is equivalent to:

About 12 hazelnuts

Seven or eight cashews/almonds/pistachios/plain almonds

Two or three pecan nuts

2 Brazil nuts/pecans

2 water bottle caps of black sesame/chia/flax seeds

1 handful shelled pine nuts

1 small handful of sunflower seeds in one hand

Are you eating enough? Next, let’s take a look at which nuts are more nutritious!

What are the nutritional values ​​of various nuts?

In order to give everyone a full understanding of which nuts are more nutritious, we have done a nut nutrition comparison. Let’s take a look at the list.

protein

The protein content of nuts is very high, generally reaching 10%~20%, and the protein content of fresh meat also ranges from 10% to 20%.

However, nuts are not the best source of protein because they are high in fat and calories. While providing protein, they also provide 1 to 2 times or even more fat, so they should only be eaten in moderation.

Dietary fiber

Dietary fiber is beneficial to the digestion and absorption of various nutrients. Eating 10 grams of chia seeds can provide 3.4 grams of dietary fiber, which can meet nearly 14% of the minimum daily dietary fiber requirement of the general population, prevent constipation, and promote intestinal health.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an antioxidant that can protect body cells from free radical damage and enhance the body's immune function. Sunflower seeds, pecans, and black sesame seeds are all good choices for supplementing vitamin E. However, most of us are not short of vitamin E.

Potassium

Potassium is an electrolyte in the human body and is essential for maintaining the normal function of cells, nerves and muscles. Insufficient potassium can cause various diseases and damage. Although the amount of nuts eaten is relatively small, the potassium intake is very limited, but eating 10 grams of hazelnuts can provide 124.4 mg of potassium, which is higher than eating 100 grams of Chinese cabbage, which is not bad! Adequate potassium in the diet is very helpful for controlling blood pressure.

Zinc

Zinc plays an important role in growth and development, maintaining immunity, and reproductive health. The zinc content in raw pine nuts, cooked pumpkin seeds, and pecans is relatively good among nuts.

magnesium

Adequate magnesium intake is beneficial to bone health, blood pressure health, and cardiovascular health. Eating 10 grams of cooked cashews, raw pine nuts or hazelnuts can meet about 15% of the average person's daily magnesium requirement.

calcium

Adequate calcium intake in the diet can strengthen bones and prevent osteoporosis. Although the calcium absorption rate in nuts is not as good as milk, it is still helpful for calcium supplementation. Black sesame, chia seeds, and white sesame are rich in calcium.

selenium

Selenium is an antioxidant with immune-regulating function. Selenium deficiency not only reduces immunity, but may also induce certain thyroid diseases. Brazil nuts have an astonishingly high selenium content. Our selenium requirement is 60 micrograms per day. Eating one nut (about 5 grams) can ingest 96 micrograms, which can meet 160% of the daily selenium requirement of the general population.

For the average adult in my country, the maximum tolerable intake of selenium is 400 micrograms per day. Don’t eat Brazil nuts too much!

Oleic acid

Oleic acid is a monounsaturated fatty acid that can protect cardiovascular system, reduce the amount of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (bad cholesterol) in the blood, and prevent cardiovascular disease. Pecan, macadamia, and pecan are all good choices.

Omega-3 fatty acids

Omega-3 is an essential fatty acid that is very beneficial to human health. It is generally believed that Omega-3 fatty acids can prevent heart disease.

There are very few nuts rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, and the content of these four kinds of nuts is quite good. Among them, flax seeds have the highest content, but you must make sure they are fried before eating, because raw flax seeds contain cyanogenic glycosides, which may cause poisoning if eaten raw.

Pay attention to these points when eating nuts!

Tips for eating nuts:

Reminder for quantity control: Everyone knows that nuts are high in oil and fat. The Chinese Dietary Guidelines recommend eating 50 to 70 grams of nuts per week, which averages out to about 10 grams per day. If you want to control your weight, don't indulge in nuts that are high in fat, such as macadamia nuts, pecans, and pine nuts.

Selection reminder: It is best to choose the original flavor, and eat less salt-baked, charcoal-grilled, milk-flavored and other unique flavors, and avoid extra intake of salt, sugar, and oil, which are not good for health.

Storage reminder: Nuts are rich in unsaturated fatty acids and are easily oxidized and rancid, so they need to be sealed and stored. If you eat nuts that have a "rancid" or "moldy" smell, be sure to spit them out and rinse your mouth.

Nuts are healthy snacks, and they taste really good! Choosing the right type of nuts and the right amount is the key step. At the same time, pay attention to choosing pure nuts with no additives to "recharge" our body's health.

References

[1] Yang Yuexin. Chinese Food Composition Table 6th Edition Volume 1[M]. Peking University Medical Press, 2018

[2] https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170178/nutrients

[3] https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169414/nutrients

[4] https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170567/nutrients

[5] https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170182/nutrients

[6] https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170554/nutrients

[7] https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170569/nutrients

Planning and production

This article is a work of Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Project

Produced by: Science Popularization Department of China Association for Science and Technology

Producer｜China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.

Author: Xue Qingxin, registered nutritionist

Review | Zhong Kai, Researcher at the National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center