Some Fun Facts About Nuts

Did you know that the word "pecan" is from the Algonquin language, and it means "nut to be cracked with a rock"?

Pecans are good for you. They are rich in the antioxidant Vitamin E, so they combat free-radicals in your body. They can help prevent cell damage from free-radicals, and they can boost your immune system. Besides these antioxidant benefits, pecans contain lots of magnesium for strong bones, and they have high levels of phytosterols which help lower the "bad" cholesterol. They have significant amounts of zinc. Pecans are low in sodium and high in fiber, and they contain the "good" mono- and polyunsaturated fats. Eat pecans to help lower your LDL and raise your HDL.

Almonds, hazelnuts, and walnuts are also high in antioxidants. Walnuts contain relatively high levels of omega-3's which will help your brain cells function properly and make you feel alert. Omega-3's also help your body process carbohydrates and store them as glycogen, the main form of stored energy in your body (easily accessible as blood sugar, or glucose). And since those carbs are converted into glycogen, they are not being stored as fat.

Some Nutty American History

Native Americans of the eastern woodlands relied heavily on nuts for winter nutrition. Written records from as early as the 1500s tell us something about the methods in which they used nuts. While there are only descriptions to refer to, most experts believe that one way nuts were prepared was with a round-hollowed, bowl shaped log or stump and a large wooden pounding club. These were used like a mortar and pestle to break and grind up nuts. All parts of the nuts were mashed, shells and meats together, and they were then cooked in water for several hours. The oils, which contained the nutrients, separated from the nutmeats and floated to the top of the water, while the nutmeats and shells sank to the bottom of the water. The nutritious broth was poured off and used to make porridge or soup, or for cooking roots or meat, or even as a nutritious beverage.

Forage for Nuts

If you want to harvest nuts from the wild, you will actually be doing what is known as "foraging". Foraging for nuts takes some concerted effort, because you will have the best luck if you can look every couple of days and pick up the nuts you find each time. The nuts from different trees differ in taste from each other, even within the same tree species. One hickory tree may have delicious, sweet, meaty nuts, while another one nearby will have bitter and nearly inedible nuts. Squirrels know which trees have the best nuts, and they will clean up almost every good nut that falls almost as fast as it hits the ground. Squirrels also can smell which nuts are beginning to spoil, and they will leave them behind. So if you hear and see lots of squirrel activity in the woods around a particular tree, you can be sure that the nuts you will gather from under that tree will be tasty. You can always take along a nut cracker and do some taste-testing in the woods.

Eat Nuts

You need to eat nuts raw for them to have the most impact on your health, but roasted are fine, too. The health benefits from eating raw pecans, almonds, walnuts, or hazelnuts start with as little as 1/4 cup, and you can eat as many as you want. Dietary advisors used to tell us to avoid nuts because of the fatty oils they contained, but now that we better understand LDL and HDL levels and know about omega 3's and their benefits that advice has changed. Just be sure to stay away from any kind of dry roasted, oil roasted, honey-coated, beer nuts, salted, or otherwise coated or flavored nuts. If you like the taste of roasted nuts, you can toast them yourself in a hot skillet or in the oven. No need to add any oil or anything, just heat them for a few minutes, stirring them often, and enjoy.

Another way to enjoy nuts is to make them into nut butter. Besides peanuts, you can use any kind of nut to make a nut-butter spread. Pecans are a relatively soft nut that make a spread easily in a blender or food processor. Almonds make great nut butter, too. You can roast the nuts you use to make nut butter, or use them raw. If the butter is not as smooth as you like, you can add extra virgin olive oil a tiny bit at a time until you get the consistency you want. Almond oil or sesame oil is also good for making nut butters smooth. Simply process the nuts and any oil you need until they are spreadable, and put the butter into a jar to store it.

So if you feel like a nut, go ahead and snack. In fact, help yourself to a healthy handful.