Who doesn’t love nuts, right? But when you think about snacking on nuts, you often think about grabbing a handful of almonds, pistachios, or cashews, perhaps.
What about next time, trying some macadamia nuts?
WHY? They are nutritional powerhouses that set themselves apart from the rest because of their high monounsaturated fat, thiamin, and manganese content.
A Nutrient Breakdown of Macadamia Nuts: The Nutritional Powerhouse
Here’s an overview of the nutrients we get from 1 ounce of raw macadamia nuts, about ten nuts.
203.5 Calories
3.9 g Carbohydrate /2.4 g Fiber /1.5 g Net Carbs/ 21.5 g Fat
16.7 g Monounsaturated Fatty Acids/ 2.2 g Protein
0.34 mg Thiamin 0.05 mg/ Riboflavin/ 0.7 mg Niacin
0.21 mg Vitamin B5 /0.08 mg Vitamin B6 /24.1 mg Calcium
0.21 mg Copper /1.05 mg Iron /36.9 mg Magnesium
1.17 mg Manganese /104.3 mg Potassium/ 1.02 mcg Selenium
Know the Benefits of Macadamia Nuts
1: Improves Brain Function
Macadamia nuts contain more healthy monounsaturated fatty acids than any other nut. Two of these monounsaturated fats are known for their brain-boosting benefits: oleic acid and palmitoleic acid.
2: Enhances Heart Health
Not only do the monounsaturated fats found in macadamias boost brain health, but they also help improve most of the biomarkers associated with heart disease risk (i.e., triglycerides, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels).
3: Improves Blood Sugar Regulation (one of my favorites!)
The high amount of palmitoleic acid found in macadamia nuts has increased insulin sensitivity, which plays a significant role in preventing the onset of type 2 diabetes.
4: Reduces Inflammation
5: Supports Gut Health
The soluble fiber in macadamia nuts aids your digestion by feeding your beneficial gut bacteria. In turn, this can improve your gut health.
Summary:
Although all nuts are healthy in some way, it can be argued that the macadamia nut is a zinger of a health nut!
Let’s look at some of the advantages that macadamias have over most nuts:
- They are lower in carbs and net carbs than most nuts.
- They contain more thiamin (vitamin B1) than other commonly consumed nuts.
- They have more manganese than most nuts, which helps with nutrient absorption, the production of digestive enzymes, bone development, and immune-system defenses.
- They contain less protein than most nuts.
- They provide us with more healthy monounsaturated fats than any other nut.
- They have the lowest amount of inflammatory omega-6 fats per serving compared to other commonly consumed nuts. That is awesome!
Check out some of the detailed references:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18356332/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15649284/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12672919/
https://faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.923.6
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10789609/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17437143/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24925120/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20064680/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5646185/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308814610001378
https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/138/4/761/4665045
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4190113/
