10 HEALTHY NUT CHOICES
ALMONDS Best source of fibre, calcium and vitamin E
PHOTOGRAPH: HANNAH HUGHES. FOOD STYLING: KATY MCCLELLAND. STYLING: VICTORIA ELDRIDGE
BRAZIL NUTS Best source of magnesium, manganese and phosphorous
You may not realise it, but nuts are actually seeds or fruit that comprise a brittle outer shell with an edible kernel inside. The term ‘nut’ refers to those that grow on trees, such as almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios and walnuts.
Best so urce of copper and iron
Although peanuts (also known as groundnuts) are technically legumes like peas and beans, they’re nutritionally similar and referred to in the same way as tree nuts.
In nature, nuts do an important job of delivering the energy and nutrients a new plant needs to grow. Those same fats, protein, minerals, vitamins and plant compounds benefit humans, too.
CASHEWS
TOO MUCH FAT? All nuts are high in fat (they’re usually about 50% fat) but mostly the unsaturated, healthy kind, according to Victoria Taylor, a registered dietitian who advises the British Heart Foundation. Walnuts and pine nuts, for example, are high in polyunsaturated fats, while almonds, pistachios, pecans and hazelnuts are rich in monounsaturated fats.
Brazil nuts, cashews and macadamia nuts are higher in saturated fat. “Too much of this can contribute to raised cholesterol levels, so only eat them occasionally,” Taylor says. “Chestnuts are an exception – they’re lower in many fats and higher in starchy carbohydrate than other nuts.” Because of their fat content, nuts are relatively high in calories. But they’re not as calorific as the packet might suggest, says Dr Sarah Berry, a nutritional scientist at King’s College London and health science company ZOE.