10 Amazing Health Benefits Of Hazelnut

A handful of hazelnuts a day keeps the doctor away may not sound as smooth as its apple equivalent, but one can't deny the benefits of this wonderful nut.

The benefits of hazelnuts are many but as with anything in life moderation is key – hence the advice of a handful of nuts. Turkey, as the world’s biggest hazelnut supplier, even used to have advertisements promoting the little wonder back in the day. Rightfully so, as hazelnuts are truly a superfood.

For one, hazelnut oil is high in oleic acid, a naturally occurring fat in animals and vegetables that is said to help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. In fact, it has as much oleic acid as olive oil, the building block of the heart-friendly Mediterranean diet.

# 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.

# 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.

# 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.

# 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.

# 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.

# 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.

# 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.

# 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.

# 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

# 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.