20 Hazelnut Health Benefits
Hazelnuts have been used for their healing properties since the time of the Ancient Greeks. That means that hazelnut health benefits have been known for literally thousands of years. Why not learn about their health benefits for yourself? Keep reading to learn more!
Hazelnut Fun Facts
- The oldest sign of hazelnuts goes back 10,000 years ago in Sweden, Germany, and Denmark.
- Manuscripts from 5,000 years ago list hazelnuts as one of the five sacred foods of China.
- The Ancient Romans used torches made of the branches of hazelnut trees to bring a long, happy, and prolific.
- Hazelnut trees are sometimes planted around farms to stabilize sensitive soil.
- Hazelnut trees can produce pollen and blossoms even during the middle of winter.
- Hazelnuts were brought the to the United States by immigrants.
- The first hazelnut tree was planted in what is now Scottsburg, Oregon by Sam Strickland in 1858.
- 99 percent of the United States’ hazelnuts are grown in Oregon.
- Hazelnuts became Oregon’s state nut in 1989.
- Turkey produces 75 percent of the world’s hazelnuts.
- Hazelnut trees can produce nuts for more than 80 years.
Hazelnut Health Benefits
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Antioxidants
Antioxidants protect the body from heart disease and cancers. The antioxidants in the hazelnuts fight off oxidative stress which is how it protects the body. The antioxidants also kill off infections, calm inflammation, and lower the cholesterol in the blood.
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Nutrients
Hazelnuts have more nutrients than you might expect. Now, in general serving of hazelnuts is 28 grams, an ounce, or 20 full kernels. Before the list is given, it should be noted that RDI stands for “reference daily intake”.
- 176 Calories
- Vitamin K. 4mcg. Five percent of the RDI
- Zinc. 0.7mg. Five percent of the RDI
- Fiber. 2.7 grams
- Phosphorus. 81.2mg. Eight percent of the RDI
- Thiamine. 0.2mg. 12 percent of the RDI
- Copper. .5mg. 24 percent of the RDI
- Folate. 31.6mg. Eight percent of the RDI
- Protein. 4.2 grams
- Vitamin E. 4.2mg. 21 percent of the RDI
- Carbs. 4.7 grams
- Iron. 1.3mg. Seven percent of the RDI
- Magnesium. 45.6mg. 12 percent of the RDI
- Manganese. 1.7mg. 87 percent of the RDI
- Fat. 17 grams
In addition to the things listed above, there are also trace amounts of niacin; omega-6 and 9; vitamin B6; poly- and monounsaturated fats; and calcium.
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Cancer Fighter
Hazelnuts have vitamin E, an antioxidant called proanthocyanidins, and manganese. All of these vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants work together to keep down the oxidative stress that could cause cancer. In addition to that, vitamin E is an antioxidant on its own and has been found to keep cells safe from damage that could result in cancer.
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Heart Health
Because of their antioxidants, hazelnuts work well to low the bad cholesterol in your body. If your LDL leaves are too high because of the triglycerides, then you put you at a higher risk of heart disease, strokes, and heart attacks.
Hazelnuts also protect the body against inflammation that can occur in the blood and poorly affect the arteries. The fiber, magnesium, fatty acids, potassium, and antioxidants also work together to get your blood pressure where it should be and keep it there. To get these benefits, it is suggested that people east between 29 and 69 grams of hazelnuts a day.
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Blood Sugar
Using hazelnuts for lowering blood sugar levels can be a little tricky because they have to work together with other nuts. The oleic acid found in hazelnuts increases how sensitive a person to insulin and it helps people with type two diabetes as well as type one.
Now, the change in blood sugar when consuming hazelnuts is very small, but people who mixed the hazelnuts with walnuts and almonds found that they had less trouble with metabolic syndrome. Their blood sugar levels were also lower. This has been crossed by removing hazelnuts from the mix.
So the next time you are looking for a snack of some sort, try mixing seven and a half grams (each) of almonds and hazelnuts with 15 grams of walnuts.
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Inflammation
Hazelnuts, because of their healthy fats, are perfect for fighting off inflammation. People with weight problems and/or metabolic syndrome found that their inflammation amounts went down considerably. It is suggested that people try to get about 60 daily grams of hazelnuts.
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Brain Health
The manganese, fatty acids, thiamine, folate, and vitamin E help each other to keep the brain safe from things like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and dementia while calming anxiety and strengthening your memory. Not getting enough thiamine can harm the brain; manganese keeps the brain’s cognitive activity sharp; and lastly, the protein and fatty acids can help stop depression and protect the nervous system.
The folate acid in hazelnuts does not only protect adults’ brains, it helps plays a key role in the brain development of fetuses.
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Be Mindful
If you have an allergy to one kind of nut, you are likely to be allergic to other nuts as well. Through research, it has been found that most people who were allergic to hazelnuts were also allergic to macadamia nuts and Brazil nuts. So if you are allergic to more than one kind of nut, you might want to ask your doctor about allergies before you try to use hazelnuts for any of these benefits.
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Dyed Hair
Dying your hair can also severely damage it because of all the chemicals in the dyes. By using shampoos and conditioners that have hazelnut, they moisturize your hair amazing and can repair some the damage that was caused by the dyes. On top of that, the nuts also keep the color in your hair for longer.
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Skin Health
The vitamin E in hazelnuts keep your skin soft, fights of signs of aging, and helps to defend your skin from cancers and UV rays. The thing that is even better is that despite the fatty acids and kinds of oils, using lotions or creams that have hazelnut do not leave that gross slimy and greasy feeling. Hazelnut oil is also perfect if you have sensitive skin.
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Hair Mask
Hazelnuts and eggs make the best possible hair mask for dry, frizzy, and brittle hair. If this describes your hair, then you might want to try this. You need to beat two eggs with two tablespoons of powdered hazelnuts. Once it is all mixed together, apply it to your hair and rinse it out after 20 minutes and then follow the rinsing with a good shampooing.
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Muscle Health
Calcium and magnesium are important because the magnesium helps to power the calcium along through the body and the calcium keeps the muscles strong and moving. Hazelnuts have quite a bit of magnesium in them, so they work to stop you from overstressing the muscle while stopping muscle cramps, spasms, fatigue, soreness, and reduces muscular tension. Vitamin K also plays a key role and the proteins in the nuts also help to build muscle.
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Constipation
With the fiber in hazelnuts, it is not a big surprise that they aid in stool movement. The great thing about the fiber in hazelnuts is that it binds your stool together, loosens it, and helps it to leave the body which all but cancels out the problem of constipation.
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Nervous System
Vitamin B6 helps the amino acids in your body to do what they have to. Not having enough vitamin B6 can also trouble the formation of melatonin, epinephrine, and serotonin. A deficiency can also tamper with the making of the myelin sheath around the axons in your brain which can poorly affect how you do a lot of things.
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Menstrual Cramps
Calcium, magnesium, and vitamin E are all great for stopping menstrual cramps as well the iron helping the replenish what you are losing to the overall flow. When you are suffering from your next menstrual cycle, try eating some hazelnuts and see it if it does anything to help you.
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Folate
Folate is something that most people probably do not think about all that often, but they should. Pregnant mothers more so than others, but folate is still important. Folate is so vital because of the prevents defects in babies as well as megaloblastic anemia.
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Joints and Bones
Hazelnuts, as mentioned a couple of times, have a good amount of manganese, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium. These minerals are vital for building healthy bones and keeping your bones from losing density. Because the minerals stopping the loss of bone density, they thereby lessen your overall chances of suffering from osteoporosis.
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Faster Healing
Hazelnuts contain an amino acid called arginine and it helps wounds to heal faster and the vitamin E limits how much scarring- inside and outside of the body- occurs. Having lower blood pressure can also help wounds to heal faster (it can help with clotting) and hazelnuts can help with this because it widens and relaxes the blood vessels a bit.
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Sunblock
Sunburn, while not a serious health issue, can lead to bigger health issues later (skin cancer). You can make your own sunblock with hazelnut, avocado, sesame, and walnut oil together. You just apply it your skin and you are ready to go.
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Acne Cure
Hazelnuts even clear up acne when matched with coffee grounds. You do not even need too much to make it. You just need to mix a half teaspoon (each) of coffee powder and sugar in with one teaspoon of crushed up roasted hazelnuts in a bit of olive or coconut oil.
Sources
https://www.naturalfoodseries.com/11-benefits-hazelnuts/
https://www.healthbeckon.com/hazelnuts-benefits/
https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/wonderful-benefits-of-hazelnuts-for-skin-hair-and-health/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/hazelnut-benefits#section2
https://mobile-cuisine.com/did-you-know/hazelnut-fun-facts/