How healthy are nuts really? What nutrients do they contain, when should we avoid nuts – and what happens if we eat nuts every day while enjoying gambling at a casino.
Nuts have been part of the human diet for a long time. However, not everything that we colloquially refer to as a nut is actually a nut. In botanical terms, nuts belong to the fruit family: the so-called nut fruits or nuts have a three-layered pericarp, which becomes woody and forms the nutshell. Inside is the seed, which we colloquially call a nut.
What nuts are there?
There is a wide variety of different nuts:
Strictly speaking, only hazelnuts, macadamia nuts and walnuts really count as nuts.
Peanuts are legumes.
Cashews, almonds, pistachios, coconuts and pecans belong botanically to the stone fruit family. In stone fruits, only the inner fruit wall is lignified.
Brazil nuts belong to the capsule fruit family.
If you want to know more about the individual varieties and how healthy they are, read this article:
Until recently, the German Nutrition Society (DGE) counted nuts as fruit. They are now highlighted separately:
In botanical terms, nuts are a colorful group. They can be enjoyed as a snack between meals or as an ingredient in cakes or salads.
What nutrients do nuts contain?
Nuts contain very little water, but are rich in fat, protein, carbohydrates and fibre. Nuts are also good sources of minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals. The different varieties vary in their composition. However, there are three important nutrient groups that all nuts provide:
Protein
Nuts are rich in protein and are therefore a good source of plant-based protein, especially in vegan and vegetarian diets. The front-runner is the peanut – no wonder, as it is actually a legume: Around 25 grams of protein are contained in 100 grams of peanuts. Almonds have 18 grams, pistachios and cashews 17 grams, Brazil nuts 16 grams and walnuts 14 grams.
Unsaturated fatty acids
Nuts contain a lot of fat – the good kind: unsaturated fatty acids. Unsaturated fatty acids include the essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which the body cannot produce itself and which we must therefore consume in sufficient quantities with food.
Walnuts, for example, are particularly rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 and omega-6) with 40 grams per 100 grams, followed by pine nuts (23 grams), Brazil nuts (22 grams) and pecan nuts (18 grams). But linseed is also a good source of unsaturated fatty acids.
Minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals
Nuts also contain many healthy vitamins: Walnuts, hazelnuts and sunflower seeds are good sources of vitamin B6. Hazelnuts and almonds are particularly rich in vitamin E, each containing around 26 milligrams per 100 grams. Peanuts have a high folic acid content.
Nuts are a good source of trace elements and minerals such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, copper, zinc, selenium and iron. With over 100 milligrams per 100 grams, almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios and Brazil nuts are particularly rich in calcium. Pine nuts have the highest iron content (9 milligrams) and Brazil nuts are particularly rich in selenium. The cashew nut is the leader in magnesium with 270 milligrams.
Nuts also provide health-promoting secondary plant substances such as carotenoids and polyphenols. Hazelnuts have a particularly high polyphenol content with 495 mg of polyphenols per 100 g, followed by pecan nuts (493 milligrams), almonds (187 milligrams) and walnuts (28 milligrams).
That sounds like it would be very healthy to eat nuts every day. Vegans in particular are often advised to do so. What’s the truth?
This is what happens when you eat nuts every day
Because nuts contain a lot of fat, they used to be regarded as fattening calorie bombs. We now know: Nuts make an important contribution to your health – partly because of their fat content.
Positive effects of eating nuts every day
- The risk of depression decreases: A study from 2023 shows that people who ate nuts daily were less likely to be diagnosed with depression and less likely to take antidepressants.
- Your cognitive performance is strengthened: A study from 2024 indicates that regular consumption strengthens cognitive performance or reduces cognitive decline in older people.
- Your cardiovascular system is strengthened: Due to the favourable fatty acid pattern of many nuts – consisting of a low proportion of saturated and a high proportion of unsaturated fatty acids – nuts have a positive effect on blood lipid levels and therefore also on heart health.
- The risk of cardiovascular disease is reduced: A meta-analysis from 2022 shows that not only is heart health strengthened, but the risk of cardiovascular disease is actually reduced. Another study assumes a reduced risk of up to 30%.
- Your risk of diabetes decreases: The favourable fatty acid pattern in nuts ensures improved insulin sensitivity and therefore lowers the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
- The risk of chronic diseases is reduced: A meta-analysis shows that the risk of chronic diseases and, at the same time, the risk of dying from these diseases is reduced.
- The risk of cancer is reduced: There is evidence that daily nut consumption reduces the risk of bowel, uterine and pancreatic cancer.
- The risk of weight gain and obesity is reduced: Despite the high fat content, scientists see a link between the regular consumption of nuts and a lower risk of weight gain and obesity.