The benefits and harms of Brazil nuts
As is often the case, the hero of our today's conversation is called a nut, not because it is one in a biological sense, but because in appearance, taste, texture and smell it most resembles a nut. In fact, this is a grain, or a seed from the fruit of the berthollet tree. Brazil nuts are not divided into halves like their true brethren. And if you saw the fruit of the berthollette live, you would most likely decide that this is a coconut. But once you split it, and instead of white pulp, large oblong grains, covered with a peel, appear in front of you. What can Mother Nature not come up with?
From the name it is easy to guess that the Brazilian nut comes from the country of the same name. Although it grows throughout the Amazon Valley: in Guiana, Venezuela, Bolivia and parts of Peru. This product has been known since the time of the Indians; it has always been prized for its great taste and high nutritional value. Traditional medicine of the Aztecs actively used the fruits of berthollet. They still play an important role in local cooking and healing.
Once on the European continent, the Brazilian nut aroused great interest and universal love. This is an incredibly tasty delicacy, and modern scientists have managed to establish that it is also the most useful food product. Anyone who looks after their health, wants to have a toned figure and beautiful skin, will be interested in our today's detailed story about the Brazilian nut.
Brazil nut description
The berthollet tree (in some sources - bertholletia) is named after the great French chemist Claude Berthollet. This tree looks truly monumental: 50-60 meters high, absolutely straight and smooth, up to three meters in girth, and the leaves with fruits are almost at the very top. Bertoletiya grows for about five hundred years, and begins to produce crops only in the twelfth year of life. Collecting nuts from such a giant, you understand, is extremely difficult, and it is not necessary: ripe fruits themselves fall to the ground. This is why the Spanish colonists, who first tasted sweet, nutritious Brazil nuts, called them "the gift of God from heaven."
The shell of the berthollet fruit, although thin, is very strong. If it does not split when it falls, you have to try to extract the treat. The monkeys are very successful in this - one of the main connoisseurs of the Brazil nut. They crush the fruit against sharp stones. By the way, it is the rich fauna of the Amazon that contributes to the natural spread of Berthollet. For example, adorable agouti animals (something like guinea pigs) store Brazil nuts "for a rainy day" by burying them in the ground. And then they forget where the treasure was hidden. The seeds germinate safely, giving life to new trees. How similar is the story with our squirrels and acorns, isn't it?
To cultivate a Brazilian nut artificially is a task as difficult as it is pointless. In the jungle, one berthollet can take up to two hundred kilograms of fragrant nuts per year! And in "captivity" these trees do not want to bear fruit well either twelve or fifteen years after planting. Another mystery of nature! Today Bolivia is the main supplier of Brazil nuts to the world market, but they have kept their name unchanged.
The benefits of brazil nuts
What is so remarkable about this large (5-6 cm in length) buttery nut, which tastes like a pine nut?
Composition and calorie content
- Fats: 66.3 g
- Proteins: 15 g
- Carbohydrates: 12.3 g
- Water: 2.6 g
- Ash: 3.7 g
- Cellulose: 7 g
Vitamins (per 100 g): |
amount |
% RDA |
| Vitamin B1 (thiamin) | 0.91-1.35 mg | 75.3% |
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) | 3.8-6.1 mg | 32.7% |
Minerals (in 100 g): |
amount |
% RDA |
| Selenium | 103-1917 mcg | 1553.8% |
| Silicon | 91 mg | 303.3% |
| Boron | 160 mcg | 228.6% |
| Chromium | 100 mcg | 200% |
| Copper | 1743-1760 mcg | 175.2% |
| Manganese | 1220.0-2780 mcg | 100% |
| Magnesium | 355.0-376 mg | 90.8% |
| * Barium | 850 mcg | 85% |
| Phosphorus | 590.0-675 mg | 79.1% |
| Vanadium | 21.3 μg | 53.3% |
| Zirconium | 26.2 mcg | 52.4% |
| Rubidium | 44 μg | 44% |
| Cobalt | 3.1-4.1 μg |
36% |
| Molybdenum | 25 mcg | 35.7% |
| Zinc | 4200 mcg | 35% |
| Potassium | 447-600 mg | 21.2% |
| Sulfur | 178.0-245 mg | 21% |
| Iron | 2.43-2.5 mg | 16.4% |
| * Strontium | 103 mcg | 12.9% |
| Calcium | 61.0-218 mg | 12.7% |
| Lithium | 12 mcg | 12% |
| Nickel | 15 mcg | ten% |
Other important connections:
- Phytosterols - 108 mg (196.4% of the RDI)
- Purines - 23.8 mg (16.7% of the RDI)
Just an incredible figure - 1,553% of the daily value of selenium is contained in just one handful of Brazil nuts! That is, with the help of a couple of nuts, you can be guaranteed to protect yourself from a deficiency of this important trace element.
Complete chemical composition ➤
Why does a person need selenium, and what is the danger of its lack? Let's figure it out.
Selenium in brazil nut
The role of selenium in maintaining human health began to be studied in detail in the middle of the twentieth century. Only then there were suggestions that we just need this substance. Previously, it was considered a strong poison! In a sense, this is true. There are even known cases of mass poisoning of cattle grazing in wheat fields, the soil of which is rich in selenium. An excess of this trace element can be dangerous, but its deficiency threatens with equally serious consequences.
Selenium participates in cellular reactions: without it, the necessary enzymes are not produced. The human body, especially the female, begins to give systemic failures. Fertility, that is, the ability to successfully conceive and carry a fetus, is directly related to selenium. The deficiency of this substance greatly increases the risk of viral infections in the body of pregnant women. Also, a lack of selenium leads to hormonal dysfunctions - the thyroid gland suffers.
The trace element selenium is involved in the synthesis of several essential proteins:
- Selenoprotein P is produced by the endothelium of the brain. This protein protects us from stress, the destructive effects of heavy metals and peroxides. In other words, it is a powerful antioxidant that cannot be synthesized normally without the participation of a sufficient amount of selenium;
- Selenoprotein W is produced in the muscles and is responsible for their work. Without this protein, premature aging occurs, the body becomes flabby, the proper amount of calories is not burned in the muscles, therefore, selenium deficiency is also a direct road to obesity;
- Iodithirinine-5'deiodinase is produced in the kidneys and liver. This amino acid plays an important role in maintaining healthy hormonal levels throughout a person's life.
Selenium, along with iodine, magnesium and cobalt, is responsible for the proper maturation of the eggs. It also prevents cell mutations, which means it helps to bear a healthy baby, without malformations and congenital abnormalities. The role of selenium in strengthening immunity and preventing the development of oncological diseases is very important. It is this microelement that is needed for the synthesis of enzymes that destroy foreign cells.
To avoid a selenium deficiency, it is not necessary to buy vitamin and mineral complexes at the pharmacy, to which many are allergic. It is enough to eat right: eat fish, seafood and nuts regularly. Just about one of them - Brazilian - we are talking today. It is the most generous source of selenium that nature has to offer.
Read more: Selenotherapy - how to reduce the risk of cancer in 2 times?
The benefits of brazil nuts for women
As we have already said, the selenium contained in the Brazilian nut plays an important role in the preservation of female reproductive function, ensures the correct course of pregnancy, protects the future baby from developmental pathologies, and protects the thyroid gland. But every girl is not only a mother-to-be. This is, first of all, a woman who wants to stay young and beautiful as long as possible. How can Brazil nuts help her?
Its antioxidants fight free radicals and therefore prolong our life. In an acidified body, serious diseases develop, including cancer. Any woman is afraid of this terrible word. But if you eat right and live a healthy lifestyle, you can at least be sure that you have done everything possible to protect yourself from cancer.
Vitamin E, of which there is so much in the Brazil nut, is very necessary for women - it is often called the vitamin of beauty and youth. Shiny hair, firm skin and strong nails are impossible without a sufficient amount of vitamin E, and since it is fat-soluble, it is very convenient to get it from Brazil nuts - there are up to 60% fat!
By the way, the high fat content of these nuts cannot serve as a reason for those who want to lose weight to refuse their use. Fats from Brazil nuts are almost entirely polyunsaturated fatty acids. Once in the female body, they lower the level of "bad" cholesterol and increase the level of "good". Of course, you shouldn't indulge yourself too much with Brazil nuts: two or three pieces a day will be enough for a beneficial effect, and just not enough to disrupt your weight loss schedule.
Other health benefits of Brazil nuts
Not only women who want to prolong their youth, but also representatives of the stronger sex who care about their male health can turn to Brazil nut for help. Regular consumption of these nuts increases potency and improves sperm quality. This is one of the reasons why indigenous Hispanics are so loving and fertile: in Brazil and Bolivia, you can often find families where a young wife gives birth to babies to her sixty-year-old husband.
Like macadamia, Brazil nut is very popular in cosmetology. Its healing and aromatic oil is often added to face and body creams, shower gels, shampoos, balms, and revitalizing hair masks. The effect is remarkable: Brazil nut oil makes skin and hair soft, healthy and beautiful. It perfectly saturates with vitamins and moisturizes, and also prevents moisture loss.
But back to nutrition. Brazil nuts are worth adding to your diet as this unique product has a number of useful features:
- Increases immunity due to the participation of selenium in the synthesis of macrophages, immunoglobulins and leukocytes;
- Improves digestion and cleanses the intestines with fiber;
- Neutralizes heavy metals, in particular arsenic;
- Protects cell integrity by preventing gene mutations;
- Fights free radicals, preventing premature aging and the development of chronic diseases;
- Reduces cholesterol and blood sugar levels, protecting against atherosclerosis and diabetes;
- Prolongs the reproductive period in both women and men;
- Prevents cancer and helps fight cancer for those who are already sick.
Brazil nut harm
Even such a useful product has a number of disadvantages and contraindications for use. More precisely - to abuse. But first things first. Here is a list of reasons why Brazil nuts can be harmful:
- Allergies are the most common problem. Not only to Brazilian, but to all nuts in principle, many people have severe allergies. Therefore, if you have noticed a negative reaction in yourself, for example, to peanuts, try the Brazilian nut with great care;
- Aflatoxin - The peel of Brazil nuts contains a natural poison that, in large quantities, can damage the liver, cause cirrhosis or cancer. Some countries' sanitary and epidemiological legislation prohibits the import of unpeeled Brazil nuts. However, such a harsh measure seems unnecessary: firstly, it is unlikely that someone would begin to gnaw this tough, absolutely tasteless peel, and secondly, it would have to be gnawed every day for six months in order to have pronounced consequences;
- Radium - an international scandal erupted around the Brazil nut a few years ago. American scientists found this dangerous element in him and called on the whole world to stop purchasing. The incident is more of a political than a medical one. In fact, the root system of any plant absorbs substances from the soil - both useful and harmful. Imagine a fifty-meter berthollethia tree: its powerful root system will suck anything out of the ground over the years. The concentration of radium in Brazil nuts is so scanty that it is unnecessary to talk about harm. In figures, it is 40-260 Bq / kg, which is negligible, but this figure is 1000 times higher than the concentration in other products;
- Barium - in addition to radium, the Brazil nut accumulates the toxic trace element barium (in 100 g - 85.0% of the daily value) and strontium (12.9%);
- Excess selenium - It can develop in a person from overeating Brazil nuts. The main symptoms are: nausea, vomiting, confusion, redness of the skin, strange odor from the mouth, similar to garlic, shortness of breath, in severe cases, pneumonia and liver failure. Such a dangerous condition occurs only if you consume 5000 or more mcg of selenium per day for a long time (the daily requirement of an adult for selenium is from 80 to 200 mcg), that is, eat a whole packet of Brazil nuts.
If you follow the recommendations of doctors, and every day there are 2-3 nuts, this will only benefit the body, and not harm.
Calorie content of Brazil nut
There is a lot of oil in Brazil nuts - up to 60% of the total mass. Therefore, its calorie content is very high:
654 kcal per 100 grams
But at the same time, it does not contain cholesterol, and polyunsaturated fatty acids have a beneficial effect on the condition of our blood vessels, skin, hair and nails. The essential fat-soluble vitamins A, E, D and K cannot be absorbed in the absence of fat. And Brazil nuts are an excellent source of valuable natural oils.
How to store Brazil nuts?
When buying unpeeled Brazil nuts from the store, be sure to shake them: if they rattle inside the shell, then the nuts are shriveled, old and stale. The quality of shelled Brazil nuts is much easier to understand. They should be heavy, fleshy and firm, and also have a bright, characteristic aroma. If the nuts are almost weightless and do not smell like anything, this is a low-quality product.
At home, Brazil nuts are best stored in a resealable glass container or porcelain vase. A small supply of nuts can be wrapped in a plastic bag and put in the refrigerator, but remember - they instantly absorb the smells of other foods. Therefore, if you put Brazil nuts next to the sausage, do not be surprised later by their strange aroma.
In a dark, cool and dry place, Brazil nuts are stored for a very long time - up to two years.
The author of the article: Kuzmina Vera Valerievna | Endocrinologist, nutritionist
Education: Diploma of the Russian State Medical University named after NI Pirogov with a degree in General Medicine (2004). Residency at Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, diploma in Endocrinology (2006).
