Brazil nuts benefit you never knew

Raise your hands if you have always wanted to include Brazil Nuts in your kitchen pantry watching all the trending internet reels on healthy foods to eat. 

These amazing and unassuming-looking nuts are easily seen on the shelves of grocery stores. But we never paid attention to it. 

Amid our busy lives, it’s easy to overlook the extraordinary within the ordinary. 

The unassuming Brazil nut – a staple on supermarket shelves, is a treasure trove of benefits waiting to be unlocked. They are in fact, considered one of the most nutritional and powerful foods on Earth. 

When I first heard about it, I was like – “Must be just another nut roaming out there.” But, because it was new to me, I thought of giving it a try. The change I observed was phenomenal. The benefits made me rebuy them. And again. 

Why? 

I’ll tell you everything in this article – the many Brazil nuts benefits, how you must eat them, and the precautions to take care of. 

Know Your  Brazil Nuts: History, Nutritional Profile, and Taste

As the name suggests, these nuts are native to Brazil. The tree called ‘Brazil Nut’ (or Bertholletia excelsa, scientifically) bears big coconut-like fruits in its embrace. Inside these big hard-shelled fruits lie our Brazil nuts. 

These fruits are some really heavy stuff. If one falls on someone’s head, it can kill that person. 

A single fruit of Brazil nuts weighs as much as 2 kilos.

Unlike other nuts, these cannot be cultured or domesticated. It is because the Brazil nut trees love the wilderness; they grow only in the deep embrace of the Amazon rainforest. Sheer children of the wild.

The Brazil nut trees are one of the largest and long-lived trees that can live for as long as 500 or more years.

They grow as tall as 50 metres, which is roughly around the size of a 15-storey building. Just to give you an insight into how these nuts reach you, know that it is a work of tough labour and love. The big coconut-like shells are collected, and broken with hard tools, the small nuts are then taken out, steamed, and freed from their outer hard shell. 

The industry was dead once but is getting revitalized again. All hail their nutritional profile and the spread of the word. So, how potent these nuts truly are?

As we see, it is a mighty powerhouse, with merely 100 grams offering 656 calories. However, as we know, it is rich in selenium. 

Now, what is it?

Selenium is a natural mineral that our body uses to protect cells against damage and make DNA. Just think of it as the keeper of your future generations sane and safe. But the thing is that Brazil nuts are quite a bit rich in selenium, much more than they should have. 

Brazil nuts contain 1917 mcg of selenium.
People aged 14+ years are recommended to eat 55mcg per day. ^[2]

The maximum selenium you can have, beyond which issues start to occur, is 400mcg. We’ll discuss these issues in the later sections. Before it, let’s know what it actually tastes like. ^[3]

The Brazil nuts, because of their high-fat content, have a buttery flavour with a mild touch of sweetness. Surely, these nuts have a nutty and woodsy flavour as well. Feel like munching on some? Well, let’s look at the many Brazil nuts benefits before it.

Brazil Nuts Benefits – Hidden Gem of the Amazon Jungle

When the Brazil nut industry was seeing a decline, proper marketing and giving good incentives to the native harvesters revitalised it. This must be the reason that I got to hear about them. And the knowledge must grow.

Brazil nuts have been studied well for their many benefits. Written below are some of the best ones.

1. Energy powerhouse

A diet without knowledge offers nothing except severe health issues. High in calories, terribly low in nutrition. Brazil nuts can counter all these ill effects. 

Having only 3-4 Brazil nuts can fuel your body with around 100 calories. But calories are not the only thing we have our spotlight on. Here are all the good things that these nuts offer:

• High amounts of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats
• Minerals such as selenium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorous, etc.
• Essential fatty acids
• Vitamins such as E, folate, choline, etc.

Aren’t these nuts a really nice deal? You can grab 3-4 nuts anytime a day and get that required caloric kick.

Now, why are we focusing so much on poly and monounsaturated fats? It is because these are good fats (HDL) and help push out the bad fat (LDL) from our bodies. This helps improve our heart’s and our overall health. 

2. Healthy for your heart

Let’s pick up where we left our last para at – MUFA and PUFA (Poly and Mono-Unsaturated fatty acids. The story goes as – When Brazil nuts were being created by the lord in the next 7 days, they had requested him for his PUFA and MUFA loaded blessings (not to mention selenium). And there they are, rich in good fats.

Of all the things that keep our hearts in good shape, one is lower cholesterol levels. You surely might know this. And one way to bring it down is by consuming good fats. The studies do vouch for it as well.

One such study conducted in 2019 showed that consuming nuts prevented the heart from untimely breakdown (surely in physiological terms, not romantic ones). For the romantic breakdown, you need Keats, Meera or Wordsworth. ^[4]

3. Maintains thyroid health

The thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland that sits right in the neck’s front. Although tiny, it serves mighty functions. Just know that when it gets disrupted, hormones get disrupted, and life goes on a toss. The result? Fatigue, anxiety, rapid weight gain or weight loss, mood shifts, and whatnot. But Brazil nuts can save you. One of the many Brazil nuts benefits is that it maintain thyroid health.

The high selenium content in Brazil nuts prevents selenium deficiency. Studies have shown times and again that this leads to thyroid dysfunction. This means all the poor things written above.  ^[5]

Taking only one nut can save you from all this. Brilliant. Not just this, it can even heal those with thyroid disorders. Who knew that a nut can be this sane!? ^[6]

Selenium’s highest concentration in the human body is found in the thyroid gland.

4. A sweet source of antioxidants

As we all know, nuts and seeds contain high amounts of antioxidants. These antioxidants are known to protect our bodies from oxidative stress. 

To make you understand this, simply know that antioxidants help you protect your organs from damage, enhance skin health, improve heart health, and protect your brain from bad guys. As a result, you age gracefully. Maybe now you have one good reason to consume them. 

Still, doubt it? Then read this – 

One of the largest studies done on centenarian nuns, called The Nun Study, found that their diet included high amounts of antioxidants. Of course, there were other factors too, just as we need a thousand other reasons to start a good habit. ^[7]

5. A boon for blood sugar

Firstly, as we know, Brazil nuts keep cholesterol under healthy limits. This lowered cholesterol befriended by antioxidants brings the organs (including the pancreas) to a healthy state. One study found out that apart from lowered cholesterol, it also brought the fasting glucose levels down. ^[8]

Again, the secret lies in its selenium content. People who take selenium supplements, around 200 mcg, were observed with improved insulin sensitivity. But why take supplements when you can have Brazil nuts? But, there is a catch. It is that overdosing on selenium can lead to insulin resistance as well.

Eating too many Brazil nuts can lead to insulin resistance due to high selenium levels. ^[9]

6. Has anti-inflammatory effects

It is one of the best Brazil nuts benefits that they hold within them wonderful anti-inflammatory effects. This happens due to their high selenium content and other nutrients. But why should it matter to you?

Chronic inflammation in the body can lead to several painful disorders. These range from poor heart health to painful joints and much more. You don’t want this to happen ever. The solution? A small dose of Brazil nuts.

Having the right dose of Brazil nuts was found to improve inflammation in the body of volunteers. So, why not buy them today if you suffer from inflammation or joint pain? ^[10]

As we saw, these nuts offer tremendous amounts of benefits. And these benefits do not stop here. Here are a few bonus ones to make you realize their true potential:

• These nuts enhance mood due to their high selenium and magnesium content. In a way, you feel happy. 
• Taking them leads to better weight management due to their high nutritional profile and cholesterol-lowering effect.
• Leads to better brain health.

But all these Brazil nut benefits come with a price tag. No. We are not talking about their MRP. What we mean is that you must eat them while keeping a few points in your mind. 

Brazil nuts are harvested by hand, which helps to create jobs and protect the rainforest.

How to Eat Brazil Nuts? Precautions and Side Effects

The biggest benefit that these nuts come with is actually their drawback as well. Brazil nuts contain a very high amount of selenium. As noted above, the maximum allowed dose of selenium per day is 400 mg, and the recommended is 55mg. Now, a single nut can help you meet this requirement. Having 3-4 nuts a day is quite safe. But over it? 

• Eating more than 4 Brazil nuts per day on a regular basis can lead to selenium toxicity. Here is what it looks like:
  • Dizziness 
  • Gastric issues
  • Hair loss
  • Nervous system disorders 
  • Pain
  • Anxiety
  • Fatigue
  • And fatal issues in severe cases.

So, what to keep in mind? Keep the number below 3-4 per day.  

Conclusion

Jai from Sholay was known for his love of laddoos. Most probably, it was because he did not know about the Brazil nuts. If that were the case, he would have been unstoppable! Such is its beauty and its many benefits.

From being the heart’s ally to the thyroid’s guardian, from inflammation’s foe to blood sugar balancer, these nuts conduct a symphony of well-being. The goodness I felt after eating these, you must feel too. But heed the cautionary notes; like any masterpiece, moderation is key. Don’t go over 3-4 nuts a day. 

So, laud the hard work that goes behind harvesting these nuts by hand, laud their super nutritional profile, and embrace them with all your heart – a few nuts at a time. Joie de vivre!