Brazil nuts are a delicious, healthy treat that have many health benefits including keeping your immune system strong. The high selenium content in Brazil nuts has been linked to cancer prevention, maintaining a healthy thyroid, and protecting you against heart disease. You only need to eat 1 or 2 Brazil nuts every day to get the recommended daily allowance of selenium.
Apart from containing a healthy level of selenium, the proven benefits of Brazil nuts are also due to calcium, magnesium, and potassium in every nut. Brazil nuts are also an important source of healthy fatty acids that have antioxidant properties. So, eating one or two Brazil nuts at the start of each day is a great way to give your general health a great boost.
In this article, I will look at what scientific research has discovered about the link between Brazil nuts and good health. You will also find out about the side effects of regularly eating too many Brazil nuts.
What Are Brazil Nuts?
Brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa) are actually a seed from the Brazil nut tree that grows in South America. The Portuguese name for Brazil nuts is semilla de Brazil, or Brazilian seed.
The seeds or Brazil nuts from the Brazil nut tree are encased in a large fruit that has a hard shell like a coconut. Each fruit from the tree can contain between 3 and 24 Brazil nuts that are contained in triangular-shaped shells. These nuts look like segments of an orange when you open the fruit.
Eating raw Brazil nuts is the healthiest way you can consume them. When comparing the nutrient content of other tree nuts, Brazil nuts have the highest levels of selenium and they contain more potassium, calcium, and magnesium than most other nuts.
Brazil Nuts Nutrition Facts
Brazil nuts offer a lot of nutritional value as they are packed with healthy fats, fiber, protein, and a wide range of minerals and vitamins.
The nutritional content of Brazil nuts means that they are one of the healthiest nuts you can eat. Here are a few facts on the nutritional value of nuts from the Brazil nut tree.
Brazil nuts contain 60–70% oil and 17% protein. Brazil nuts contain abundant dietary antioxidants, especially selenium (Se). One single Brazil nut provides 160% of the US Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of selenium. It is the best source of selenium from plant-based foods. Brazil nuts are also a rich source of phenolics (phytochemicals that account for most of the antioxidant activity in plants). They are also a rich source of flavonoids.(5)
One Brazil nut (5 g) contains just under 33 calories.
A study of the health benefits from consuming nuts has revealed that Brazil nuts are high in clean protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), and folate. Eating 4 – 6 Brazil nuts a day can provide you with 27% of your magnesium RDA as well as providing calcium, iron, copper, zinc, and potassium. (1)
To find out more about improving your health naturally, please read my article on the amazing health benefits of nuts and seeds.
Brazil Nuts and Selenium
One of the most important reasons to eat a couple of Brazil nuts daily is because they contain selenium.
