Eating Nuts Reduces The rRsk Of Obesity

People who frequently eat nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and nuts) are less likely to suffer from obesity and a lower risk of suffering metabolic syndrome, according to a recent study from the University of Loma Linda in California (USA), published in the magazine «PLOS ONE». .

The research team studied the number of nuts eaten by 803 adults belonging to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The average was 16 grams/day among the large consumers and 5 grams/day among the least amateurs. "Our results showed that a serving of nuts (about 28 grams) a week was significantly associated with a 7% lower risk of suffering metabolic syndrome," says the lead author of the research, Karen Jaceldo-Siegl, who believes that Doubling this consumption could potentially reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome by 14%.

Metabolic syndrome is a set of risk factors associated with death, double the risk of cardiovascular disease and five times more likely to suffer from type 2 diabetes. The presence of three of the following five factors results in a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome: abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, low HDL (good) cholesterol, high blood pressure, and hyperglycemia.

The researchers also tested the effect of nuts on obesity. "We found that large consumers of nuts had a significantly lower prevalence of obesity compared to those who consumed less," says Dr. Jaceldo-Siegl.

This study confirms the benefits of the intake of nuts, which already advanced previous research. Last December, the prestigious magazine "The New England Journal of Medicine" (NEJM), echoed the largest study to date, more than 120,000 people, which claimed that people who eat nuts daily had a 20 percent less likely to die from any cause in a period of 30 years, than those who did not consume nuts.

Also, almost a year ago, another study, this time Spanish, published in the same journal, concluded that the Mediterranean diet supplemented with virgin olive oil or nuts such as walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds, is more effective than low-calorie diets. fats of all kinds recommended preventing cardiovascular pathologies.

The Importance Of Nuts In Food

Nuts can become one of the main allies of vegetarians when it comes to obtaining fats of animal origin, which also has properties of heart-healthy properties.

It is oilseeds covered with a shell of variable hardness that comes from certain plants.

Among the most consumed nuts are walnuts, pine nuts, pips, cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, chestnuts, pistachios, among other varieties, all low in carbohydrates -except chestnuts- with high content in water, fiber, minerals, especially phosphorus, and vegetable oils. We can also include peanuts in this group, because of the type of nutrients they have, even though they belong to the family of leguminous plants.

Due to their important amount of vegetable protein, they are fundamental products for the vegetarian, since they can use them when suppressing foods of animal origin, rich in proteins.

Energetic Value

The polyunsaturated fat that this type of food has is a source of primordial energy, sometimes even more powerful than that of meat. That implies, in turn, that they have an important caloric value that makes many people avoid them for fear of getting fat.

100 grams of almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts or walnuts represent between 600 and 700 calories of energy value. The same amount of pistachios means 580 calories, the sunflower seeds, 535, and the chestnuts, barely reach 200 - although in the case of chestnuts, they have an important carbohydrate content. Its energetic power differs a lot from one variety to another, but it is important to emphasize that it is quality energy, with essential fatty acids for the organism.

A moderate consumption not only guarantees a balanced Mediterranean diet but also ensures a good amount of nutrients beneficial to health. And in the case of vegetarians, nuts are an essential food in a diet with so many limitations.

Proteins, Minerals, And Carbohydrates

Regarding proteins, nuts and almonds are the nuts that have a higher content of this type of nutrients, even more than eggs. Also, pine nuts and cashew nuts are essential sources of this element. The quality of the peanut protein is lower, but it can be complemented by the consumption of legumes, also high protein.

The nuts have a rich mineral content that the body absorbs quickly, enjoying elements as beneficial as phosphorus, potassium, calcium, iron, and magnesium - almonds, for example, are very rich in magnesium. They do not have a remarkable vitamin content, with the exception of vitamin A.

Apart from the essential amount of fiber they contain, essential to promote intestinal transit, nuts barely contribute carbohydrates, except chestnuts. The percentage of carbohydrates they have moves between 10 and 20% of their composition.

To conclude, emphasize that it is always better to eat raw nuts, since the essential fatty acids omega 3 and omega 6 that they possess, very important to control cholesterol levels, disappear if they are fried or roasted.

In The Kitchen

Many people consider nuts as an excellent snack or as good snacks between meals, but their potential in the kitchen is very high. A salad watered with raisins, pine nuts and nuts can become a real pleasure for the senses.

They can also be incorporated into cooked vegetables, giving them a higher nutritional content. Desserts, undoubtedly, are one of the great benefits of the taste of nuts: they are perfect for enriching biscuits, nougat, muffins, a cake, a pudding ...

Did you know that ground nuts can be a good system to give consistency to creams, soups, sauces and purees? Try the innumerable possibilities offered by these products when it comes to increasing the nutritional content of your dishes.

What is the dehydration of food

Dehydrating consists in eliminating the highest possible concentration of water present in a product.

A dehydrated aliment at low temperature preserves the vast majority of foods with the same vitamins and minerals, nutrients and enzymes as their fresh counterpart, and with more concentrated flavors.

According to Energize for Life, "The process of dehydration retains almost 100% of the nutritional content of food, conserving the alkalinity of fresh products and inhibiting the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria."

Little vitamin C is lost in dehydration, and all vitamin A and Beta Carotene in plant foods are preserved. Minerals such as selenium, potassium and magnesium are conserved.

Dehydrated foods are usually expensive if you buy them. But food dehydrators allow you to keep your food fresh and nutritious yourself, at cost.

If you want a healthy diet and preserve food in your time, then dehydration is a perfect way of preservation for you.

What are the advantages of dehydration?

1.       Preserves all foods (fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, herbs, spices), meals (purees, meals), raw diet preparations (crackers, cookies, pizza, rolls, cakes, crepes, snacks, bars...) and others (ferment bread, dry flowers ...).

2.       Preserves for months or years: the conservation is longer the less water is retained and the totally dehydrated foods are perfectly preserved for years in closed containers.

3.       All nutritional properties of food: better conservation the lower the temperature of dehydration.

4.       More intense flavors when concentrating. Fruits become real goodies!

5.       Less space for storage, handling and transport.

6.       Ideal for when we travel or do excursions (they occupy little, they do not stain, they are nutritious and delicious).

7.       If you are tempted to snack between meals... better these healthy snacks.

8.       Keep surplus crops.

9.       Keep those fruits or vegetables that you do not spend before they spoil.

In what cases can dehydration be used?

Crackers, pizzas, crepes, cookies, bread, cakes, different masses, more elaborate dishes, dehydrated fruits and vegetables and everything that the imagination takes you.

How much does a dehydrator consume?

Actually, they are small drying cabinets with fans and controlled temperature. They have a simple operation, they only need power to move a fan plus the resistance to reach the right temperature.

The resistance will be switched off and on to maintain the temperature, which does not entail high energy costs.

Therefore, although it takes several hours of dehydration, it must be borne in mind that these dehydrators do not consume as much energy as a conventional oven at any time.

Types of dehydrators

When we start investigating food dehydrators, the first thing we find are two types: circular and square. These are the main differences between these 2 types of dehydrators:

-          Circular dehydrator: The heater and fan is located at the bottom or top, this causes the food that is closer to the fan have a different drying time than the rest. This means that we must monitor when using a circular dehydrator, because in addition to being more dry foods than others, it also happens that they dehydrate on the outside but not on the inside. When this happens, the conservation of food is lost and there is a high risk of mold.

The only benefit we see is that in the circular dehydrator you can choose how many trays to use, but it is cheaper to always use it at maximum capacity since it consumes the same energy.

-          Square dehydrator: The square dehydrator usually has the fan in the back (it is important that you always check it despite the shape of the dehydrator). This works by creating a constant flow of hot air that dehydrates uniformly, both outside and inside.

With these dehydrators you do not have to monitor the dehydration cycle, you will be sure that all trays are dehydrated equally.

When using and comparing both products, we immediately noticed a big difference between the square vs round dehydrators. Another advantage is that many square dehydrators allow you to remove some of the trays from the middle to create more interior space, which allows you to bake bread, make yogurt and other recipes that require more space.

Advantages of dehydrators

Sun drying is a cheap method, but it has its drawbacks:

-          Climate variability: the temperature is not stable, it is not always sunny and hot to dry (what if it rains?)

-          Exposure to dust and insects (with their larvae, flies, etc.)

-          We can not adequately control the drying time or the temperature.

If we dry in the dehydrator, we have one more device at home, but we enjoy many advantages:

-          Stability of conditions: controls the time of dehydration and temperature, which remains stable.

-          With temperatures around 40º, all enzymes and thermolabile vitamins in food remain intact. And of course, no other nutrient is altered: proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, trace elements and vitamins remain the same. Only lose the water.

-          Choose different degrees of texture: from crunchy sheets, chips and crackers to soft textures. We program the dehydrator so that it stops at the desired time.

-          Low power consumption, since we use very low power.

-          Savings: Keep the surplus if you have a field, including fruits and vegetables when it is your time or food that can deteriorate because we do not have time to consume them. With the dehydrator do not throw anything!

-          Make jelly beans for children (and not so children), with dehydrated fruits that you can cut with cookie molds (giving them shapes: moons, flowers, stars) or fruit purées that we roll and cut.

-          CrudiVegana food (cakes, pizzas, crackers, crepes, cookies ...).

-          If you pulverize dehydrated foods you can make your own salts of herbs, seasonings, flavorings for cakes and sweets, mushrooms ground for sauces ... everything you can think of!

-          By dehydrating yourself, you are sure that your dehydrated products are healthy: they do not contain sulfites (commercially dried fruits contain sulfites to have bright colors), neither flour nor preservatives of any kind.

Differences with other types of conservation

-          Freezing: food is subject to abrupt and extreme temperature changes that distort the quality of nutrients. The water turns into ice crystals, which alter the molecular structure of the food, which is why once thawed the products may have a different flavor and consistency than the original product. It is not recommended to eat foods that have been frozen for more than 6 months.

-          Canning: Foods have to be subjected to very high temperatures to ensure the non-proliferation of bacteria and spores, so there are molecular changes in all the nutrients. Food can be kept for years in aluminum cans with plasticizers inside, with the toxicity that this implies.

-          Brine and salted: acidify food.

-          Radiation: consists in exposing food to gamma rays or X-rays to destroy microorganisms, delay germination and maturation.

Dehydration is a good thing for your health and economy ... a good method to incorporate into your eating habits.

Fig Cake: An Alternative To Energy Bars

In Spain we have the fortune of having an Arab tradition still very present in the way of preparing food - especially in Andalusia - and specially preserved in sweets; and I say that we have the fortune because sweets of Arab origin do not use fats of animal origin in their preparation but of vegetable origin, especially nuts, while other traditional sweets of non-Arab origin usually are elaborated with lard.

Fig cake is a typical product of the province of Malaga (Spain), especially the town of Coin, and the Region of Murcia. It is a peasant recipe made from dried figs, almonds, cinnamon, cloves, and matalahúva, which allowed families to take advantage of the abundant production of figs more durable. Probably of Arab origin, it is marketed in small round baskets.

This traditional and super simple recipe is not only a good idea to prepare at Christmas or during the winter, but it is also a very fast and tasty alternative to energy bars during all year, 100% healthy and loaded with nutrients. Fig cake is suitable for those who usually have a significant physical wear and need more energy, such as athletes.

Figs are a rich fiber food which helps the intestinal transit, it also contains a lot of minerals -especially magnesium, calcium and iron- and vitamins A, B1 and C. They also contain many carbohydrates, this makes them a very energetic food: 260 Kcal every 100 gr, about six or seven figs. So if you lead a sedentary life, better eat it in moderation.

The fig cake can be included in your diet as a snack, as part of breakfast, or served as a dessert accompanied by juicy or dehydrated fresh fruit such as orange and cherries. Accompanied with cheese you will have a counterpoint that no one will resist.

Preparation time 10 min. Cooking time: no need. Ready in: 6-8 h.

For 1 fig cake of 1/2 kg:

Ingredients:

- 300 grams of dried figs, remove tails and cut in quarters

- 50 gr of peeled walnuts

- 100 gr of raw peeled almonds

 - 2 cups of water (filtered)

- 1 C. small of botanical seeds

- 3 spoonfuls of anise

- 1/2 spoonful of cinnamon

- 1 tangerine skin

Firstly, combine the water with the figs cut in a bowl and let hydrate for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, discard the water and combine with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well with a wooden spoon until you get a consistent dough. Place in a circular mold about 20 cm in diameter and press the dough so that the fig bread is well pressed if the mold is flexible or detachable ring will be much easier to unmold. Unmold gently and dehydrate for about 6-8 hours at 40 ° C to get a consistent fig cake.

If you want, you can also eat the fig cake instantly without destroying, although you can not save it for another day if you choose that option. The texture is softer and the taste is the same.

For faster dehydration, you can dehydrate the fig cake for 2 hours, cut into triangular portions and then dehydrate during 4-6 hours more. This way you assure yourself that it is well dehydrated and you will be able to keep your fig cake without being damaged by excessive humidity for a longer time.