Nuts are the quintessential wild card of healthy eating. There is a lot of ‘crawling’ around them because they are “fattening” and because they are “dangerous” but it is one of the most nutritious food groups that exist.
It is also true that they can cause choking, especially in young children, which is why it is not recommended to give them whole until the little ones are over 5 years old. But this does not indicate that they should be eradicated from their diet until that age: crushed this risk is avoided, for example. It is a matter, we insist, of not letting them eat them whole and of moderating the quantities. The latter is also applicable to adults, since it is enough to take a handful a day, about 50 grams, according to the Spanish Heart Foundation.
In addition, also it is advisable to eat them raw, without roasting and without adding saltsince it is the most nutritious and healthy way to eat them.
which are the healthiest
In the same way that we make the mistake of thinking that they are not good because they are fattening, we think that the healthiest are those that have the least Kcal, and that is not the case either.
As you will check next, walnuts are the most caloric varieties that there is between the nuts next to the pine nuts. Instead, they are the healthiest. The reason is that they are the only dried fruit that provides large amounts of omega-3, a very healthy fatty acid.
This is the list of nuts according to their caloric value from highest to lowest.
- Macadamia Nuts: 718 kcal/100 grams.
- Pecan nuts: 691 kcal/100 grams.
- Pine nuts: 673 kcal/100 grams.
- Walnuts: 654 kcal/100 grams.
- Hazelnuts: 646 kcal/100 grams.
- Almonds: 579 kcal/100 grams.
- Pistachios: 562 kcal/100 grams.
- Cashews: 553 kcal/100 grams.
- Acorns: 387 kcal/100 grams.
- Chestnuts: 369 kcal/100 grams.
They are all caloric, even chestnuts, which close the list. But, as we said, they are also healthy. Not everything should be measured by calories alone.
Varieties of nuts
The walnuts, as we have said before, they are very nutritious due to their contribution of Omega-3, among other aspects. The almondsfor example, they are because they provide calcium —269 mg every 100 g— and the pinions they do the same with zinc —6.45 g per 100 g—.
The cashews, for example, are rich in another mineral necessary for health, magnesium —292 mg per 100 g—. And the pistachios they contain potassium in notable amounts —1,025 mg per 100 g— in addition to the fact that fiber exceeds 10% in their composition. This is present in more than 6% in nuts. In the hazelnutsto highlight one last detail in a different variety, vitamin E is the protagonist, just like in almonds.
Definitely, it is important to assess any ingredient for its full nutritional value, not only because of the calories they provide. And nuts, if we analyze them correctly, are clearly one of the healthiest foods that exist if we take them in the recommended amounts. Especially walnuts, which are at the same time the most nutritious and also the most caloric, as you have seen in this piece.
