The pandemic has caused people to spend more time at home and therefore urging them to focus more on their diets. Nuts are often perceived as healthy foods, leading to a variety of snacks and desserts made with nuts. Are you familiar with the nutrition and characteristics of nuts of all kinds? Today, World Gourmet Platform will introduce some of the most common nuts!

When it comes to snacks or desserts, almond is the most mentioned one among all nuts. In addition to its unique nutty fragrance, almonds, despite their small size, are marvelously nutritious. The nutrients of almonds, including calcium, magnesium, vitamin B, C, E, and more, are excellent antioxidants to prevent oxidative stress to brain cells, effectively decreasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

There’s a fun fact about almonds: if you visit a Chinese community and look for ‘xing ren’ (杏仁; “almond” in Chinese), you might see another type of nut instead. Before the West introduced almonds to the East, Chinese people had been using ‘xing ren’, which generally referred to the apricot kernel. The resemblance of the two kinds of nuts in shape has led people to mistakenly call almonds ‘xing ren’. Apricot kernels are oval and heart-shaped. They are divided into two types: sweet apricot kernel (also known as Southern kernel) and bitter apricot kernel (also known as Northern kernel). The former is often for making “almond” tea and “almond” tofu while the latter is usually for Chinese Traditional Medicine.

Crispy and aromatic, one could have never gotten enough cashews had it not been for their high calories! Yet, besides its delightful flavor, cashew also brings valuable benefits to human bodies. The rich amount of tryptophan contained in cashew can reduce your anxiety and help you sleep. Moreover, cashew contains the most iron among all types of nuts. Eat about five and you’ll have replenished the iron you need for a whole day!

Since cashews are always popular as snacks, there are various flavors of cashews nowadays for you to try, thanks to the effort of snack companies.

Collision of old brand and innovation: how to bake cashews? What flavor do they have?
Click the link to read more : Methee Huang Jingsheng Cashew – Cashew Brand Founded on Phuket Island

Pistachio is one of the iconic snacks for Chinese New Year. It has fewer calories, compared to other kinds of nuts; you would intake roughly 500 kcal for eating five pistachios while you would intake 600 - 800 kcal for eating 5 nuts of other kinds. Another fact about pistachio is that it contains arginine. Arginine can turn into nitric oxide, which can improve blood circulation and therefore prevent arteriosclerosis, when digested in your body. Moreover, pistachio is rich in carotene and lutein, both can slow down the aging of the retina.

The use of pecan has a long history in Northern America. Every year, you can always see pecan pies on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Pecan contains minerals such as manganese and zinc, all of which can prevent free radicals from damaging neurons and improve immunity. In addition, pecan is also named in praise “beauty food of the royals” because it surpasses other nuts in terms of the number of antioxidants. With an abundant amount of zinc, vitamin A, and vitamin E, pecan prevents plenty of skin problems, including wrinkles, skin pigmentation, and more.

People tend to mess up pecans and walnuts, but they actually have a huge difference! Walnut's shape looks like a brian; thus, it is considered healthy food that is beneficial for your brain, according to Chinese Traditional Medicine, because the resemblance of shapes between food and a human organ indicates that the food can heal the organ.

Though macadamia is also called Hawaii nut, it actually originated from Australia! Due to the large-scale plantations in Hawaii, people tend to mistakenly believe that macadamia is from Hawaii. Macadamia is proven, by lots of nutritionists, to be a superfood of nuts. It is also a popular food in keto diet despite its high price, and it is because macadamia contains the most fat. Palmitoleic acid, one of the major fats in macadamia, can improve blood flow to the brain and help regenerate skin tissues. Another major fat in macadamia, oleic acid, can help people lose body fat while maintaining skin conditions.

Having a rich supply of protein and dietary fabric, nuts are optimal choices for a healthy diet since they’re filling and improve digestion. But always be careful that you’ll gain excessive calories if you eat too much. 5 - 10 nuts would be a reasonable intake. In addition, it’s best to consider your health conditions and mealtime before eating nuts. For example, some nuts high in minerals might not be suitable for hyperkalemia patients. Last but not least, better not to eat nuts before bed, as they will affect your blood lipids when you’re asleep.

Nowadays, people no longer eat simply to ease hunger. Long-term persistence of a good diet may lead to an overall improvement of health conditions. As long as you intake a moderate amount of nuts, you can enjoy them without worrying about calories. What is your favorite nut? Leave your comment down below and share it with us!