Native to the South American countries of Brazil, Bolivia and Peru, the Brazil nut is
a type of tree nut which is celebrated for both its distinct texture and flavour as well
as the myriad of ways it can benefit your health.
Unless you’re already a major fitness junkie (or a resident of one of these South American
countries), chances are Brazil nuts might not be something you’d consider to be a
part of your everyday diet.
Today, the writers at Bestie are hoping to change that by giving you all the information
you need on the nutritional value and health benefits of Brazil nuts.
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Vitamins, Minerals and Other Nutrients One of the most significant aspects of the
Brazil nut is the fact that it’s incredibly rich in terms of energy and densely packed
with a high concentration of healthy nutrients.
While the exact amount of nutritional value can vary depending on factors such as where
the nuts were grown, Brazil nuts are a significant source of important vitamins and minerals
such as copper, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, zinc, thiamine and vitamin E, as well as a
moderate source of nutrients such as protein and fiber.
Additionally, Brazil nuts are a rich source of healthy fats such as polyunsaturated fatty
acids.
These fatty acids make up roughly 36 percent of a Brazil nut’s fat content, and can make
a significant positive contribution towards maintaining a healthy heart.
Perhaps one of the most noteworthy aspects of the Brazil nut, however, is its incredibly
high selenium content.
In fact, the amount of selenium found in a single Brazil nut can contain nearly double
the amount of your recommended daily intake!
For those of you scratching your heads and asking yourselves “selenium?
What’s that?”
let us explain: selenium is an important mineral which can provide a number of important health
benefits, including acting as an antioxidant, preventing heart disease, boosting your body’s
immune system and even reducing the risk of certain cancers.
While actual symptoms of selenium deficiency are a relatively rare occurrence, many parts
of the world have reported insufficient selenium intake among the population, especially in
places such as the United Kingdom, Europe, and the Middle East.
With this in mind, Brazil nuts can be an effective way to maintain a healthy daily intake of
the mineral selenium, especially considering one Brazil nut is more than enough to get
your recommended daily dose.
According to one study, 60 ate two Brazil nuts each every day; the result was that the
selenium intake among participants was just as effective as it would have been if they
took a selenium supplement instead.
In summary, the incredibly dense selenium content of Brazil nuts alone makes them an
incredibly beneficial addition to anyone’s daily diet.
2.
Brazil Nuts are Good for your Thyroid For those not in the know, the thyroid is
a small gland located inside your throat which is responsible for the production of certain
hormones; these hormones perform a number of important functions within your body, including
metabolism, regulating body temperature, and assisting with your body’s throat.
Perhaps more than any other part of your body, selenium intake is incredibly important to
the function of your thyroid; this is because your thyroid uses selenium to produce a hormone
known as T3 as well as proteins which help protect your thyroid against potential damage.
In fact, thyroid tissue contains a higher concentration of selenium than any other part
of your body for this very reason.
If you’re not meeting your recommended daily intake of selenium, this can potentially lead
to your thyroid developing cellular damage, reduced hormone production, and certain types
of autoimmune disorders that directly target your thyroid.
One of such autoimmune disorders is Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, a particularly nasty thyroid
disorder which gradually destroys your thyroid tissue.
This can potentially lead to other harmful complications such as hyperthyroidism, which
can in turn result in symptoms such as fatigue, slow metabolism, weight gain and a noticeable
drop in body temperature that causes you to feel cold.
Another disorder which affects the thyroid is Graves’ disease, which occurs when your
thyroid produces too much hormone at once.
This can lead to harmful and unpleasant symptoms such as bulging eyes, dramatic weight loss,
as well as weakness and difficulty sleeping.
According to Matthew Thorpe of Healthline, 12 percent of people can expect to experience
an abnormal thyroid condition at some point in their lives, with women being 8 times more
likely to develop a thyroid-related disorder than men.
While studies are currently inconclusive, there is research that indicates a proper
intake of selenium is potentially enough to stave off the effects of these thyroid conditions.
However, more research is required in order to gain a more complete picture on just how
effective selenium is in this regard.
Nevertheless, the evidence that we do currently have does appear to indicate that a Brazil
nut a day might keep the thyroid doctor away.
At the very least, it’s worth your consideration.
3.
Brazil Nuts Help Your Heart and Brain As we mentioned before, Brazil nuts are a
rich source of polyunsaturated fats, as well as important minerals, antioxidants and dietary
fiber.
All of these are important nutrients that can potentially help to reduce the risk of
heart disease.
According to the results of one study, the selenium content in Brazil nuts may also increase
your body’s levels of HDL cholesterol, otherwise known as “good cholesterol”, while another
study indicated that Brazil nuts might also lower your body’s LDL or “bad cholesterol”
levels as well as triglycerides.
In addition to potentially improving your heart health, the high selenium content in
Brazil nuts may also have a positive impact on your brain.
In addition to selenium, Brazil nuts also contain ellagic acid, which serves as both
an antioxidant as well as an anti-inflammatory agent that may not only protect your brain
but also provide affects akin to an antidepressant.
Studies indicate that older adults who eat Brazil nuts on a regular basis may exhibit
better mental function as well as heightened verbal fluency.
By contrast, lower levels of selenium intake has been linked to neurological conditions
such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Research has also seemed to imply that selenium might not just impact your brain’s health,
but your mood as well, though studies into the mood-elevating effects of selenium are
still fairly limited at this time of writing.
Of course, before you start eating Brazil nuts for three meals a day, you should know
there are some potential health risks related to Brazil nuts as well, especially if you’re
eating too many.
Increasing your selenium intake by too much can potentially lead to selenium toxicity,
otherwise known as selenosis.
Selenosis can lead to a number of detrimental symptoms and side effects, including difficulty
breathing, kidney failure and even heart attacks.
Additionally, research has also noted that too much selenium in your system can possibly
lead to other complications as well, such as an increased risk of diabetes as well as
certain forms of cancer.
However, this research is primarily related to the selenium content in supplements as
opposed to the amount of selenium found in Brazil nuts, and cultures in South America
with selenium-enriched diets don’t appear to show any negative symptoms or effects linked
to selenium toxicity.
Nevertheless, the fact that too much selenium intake can potentially lead to negative health
effects means that Brazil nuts are one type of food you should probably try to enjoy in
moderation.
To summarize: while they might not be the most popular or readily-available nut for
some, Brazil nuts are worth adding to your diet due to the high nutritional value that
they bring to the table.
In addition to being a decent source of other vitamins and minerals, Brazil nuts are an
incredibly dense source of selenium, which not only helps your thyroid, but also your
heart, brain and other aspects of your body as well.
Just make sure not to go overboard on your serving sizes, and you should be good to go.
Did you find this video informative or interesting?
If so, be sure to check out our other videos on health and nutrition.
For example, we’ve already made an entire video devoted to the importance of selenium,
so if you’d like to know more about this mineral as well as some other potential food
sources you can get it from, be sure to give that one a watch as well.
And as always, we value the feedback we receive from people who watch our videos, so be sure
to leave a comment below in order to help us keep the conversation going.