Category Archives: Nuts

Cashews fresh off the tree. They’re actually fruits, not nuts. And while I’m being pedantic, peanuts aren’t nuts either…they’re legumes.

From RD Franziska Spritzler at DietDoctor:

There’s no denying that nuts are both nutritious and delicious. Yet for years, people have been cautioned to avoid eating too many because they’re also high in calories.

But last week, the USDA reported that nuts are actually lower in calories than originally thought. According to researchers who conducted a serious of studies over the past seven years, many nuts are 16 to 25% lower in calories than currently listed in the USDA nutrient database. The reason? Apparently, we don’t digest and absorb all of the calories from nuts.

Although the USDA’s database hasn’t yet been updated with the new values….

Source: Researchers Reveal That Nuts Have Fewer Calories Than Previously Thought — Diet Doctor

Nevertheless, you can still get fat eating too many nuts.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Click the pic to purchase at Amazon.com. E-book versions also available at Smashwords. com.

Remember…peanuts aren’t nuts, they’re legumes

From NPR:

Eating a handful of almonds, walnuts, peanuts or any type of nut on a regular basis may help prevent excessive weight gain and even lower the risk of obesity, new research suggests.

It may be that substituting healthy nuts for unhealthy snacks is a simple strategy to ward off the gradual weight gain that often accompanies aging, according to the researchers. Nuts also help us feel full longer, which might offset cravings for junk food.Researchers looked at the diet and weight of more than 280,000 adults taking part in three long-term research studies. Over more than 20 years of monitoring, participants were asked every four years about their weight and, among other things, how often, over the preceding year, they had eaten a serving (about one ounce) of nuts.

Source: Just A Handful Of Nuts May Help Keep Us From Packing On The Pounds As We Age : The Salt : NPR

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: Both of my Mediterranean Diets include nuts.

Cashews fresh off the tree. They’re fruits, not nuts.

A few quotes on cashews from “Medium”:

In the case of the cashew, someone, somewhere, a long time ago determined that it had to be roasted. The cashew was once nicknamed the blister nut, because if you try to eat it raw from the tree, your mouth pays the price. The cashew is not a nut, however; it’s a seed. On the tree, the fruit that contains it looks like a bloated green kidney bean or a boxing glove dangling comically below an upside-down red or yellow bell pepper, the swollen stalk of the fruit, called the cashew apple.

Just as the cashew isn’t really a nut, this so-called apple is a false fruit. Nonetheless, it’s juicy and edible, but it’s too perishable to ship, lasting only a day off the tree before becoming moldy and starting to rot, which is why it’s not sold in the United States. But in warmer countries…

***

Unlike other nuts (false or otherwise), cashews aren’t sold in the shell. That is because the testa skin, the inner lining between the outer shell (the actual fruit) and the kernel (the cashew), is toxic. A relative of poison ivy and poison sumac, the cashew contains the same rash-inducing chemicals, known as urushiols, as its kin. Heating the whole green fruit hardens this toxic stuff, allowing it to be separated from the seed. Once removed, this caustic goo is used in industrial materials such as waterproof paint, varnishes, lacquers, and brake linings, and meanwhile, cashew workers often suffer from skin and eye irritations and minor burns. The processing of cashews is therefore incredibly labor intensive, since most of the many steps—roasting, burning, boiling, soaking, cracking, and peeling—are completed by hand, labor performed by workers in factories primarily in India and Brazil.

Read the whole thing.