Brain snack 4X more nutritious than salmon

So you’re interested in looking into your eating habits are you? Let’s dive into the champion of travel snacks, nuts. Around 40% of Americans regularly eat nuts either out of convenience or by the doctor's orders. But which varieties are healthy for you and for the planet? Let’s explore.

In today’s issue:

• Early Adopters: It’s not almonds…

• Health: Shelling out knowledge on fats

• Environment: The only nut that doesn’t come from a tree

• Industry: How resilient is your favorite nut?

EARLY ADOPTERS

Early adopters indulge in a variety of nuts dependent on their nutritional needs. Packed will vitamins and minerals, nuts provide great nutrition for most lifestyles. One of the best sought after by early adopters are hazelnuts. High in monounsaturated fats, the healthiest of fats, these nuts support heart & brain health.

For those that eat a plant-based diet, thats naturally low in saturated fat, macadamia nuts are a great option. They are high in monounsaturated fats while also providing antioxidants to combat inflammation. However, its best to only eat a few since they are also high in calories.

For those that consume higher amounts of saturated fat, consider swapping out cashews for a mix of peanuts & almonds. Both are high in protein, low in saturated fat & provide a varying amount of B Vitamins, while also using substantially less resources to produce.

HEALTH

Nuts come in all shapes and sizes, but their healthy fats unite them all. When you think of the word “fat” you probably imagine a greasy burger from your favorite fast food joint, but there is also a healthier meaning. Without fat you wouldn’t be able to effectively absorb fat-soluble nutrients (A, D, E, & K) commonly found in nuts. This video provides a great overview of how your body uses different types of fat:

Without nuts you could expect a negative impact to a long-list of normal brain functions like repairing brain cells, improving memory & enhancing cognitive ability. For this reason nuts, and the healthy fats they provide, are so important for our diet.

While nuts are a nutritious snack, they should be enjoyed in moderation as some are also high in unhealthy fats:

High in Saturated Fat:

1. Macadamia: 25% of Daily Value

2. Cashew: 18% of Daily Value

3. Peanut: 16% of Daily Value

High in Polyunsaturated Fat (Omega-6):

1. Walnut: 76% of Daily Value

2. Pecan: 44% of Daily Value

3. Peanut: 31% of Daily Value

4. Pistachio: 26% of Daily Value

5. Almond: 25% of Daily Value

6. Cashew: 16% of Daily Value

Among the 9 most consumed nuts, these are 16 micronutrients that provide over 15% per serving highlighted in the table below:

ENVIRONMENT

Each tree has different inputs, yields & lifespans. To better compare one nut to another, he table below highlights the amount of resources needed to produce just 1 lb. of each nut over a 100 year lifespan:

INDUSTRY

How resilient is your favorite nut?

The 6 most popular nuts; almonds, cashews, peanuts, pecans, pistachios & walnuts each have their own benefits to health and the environment. While you may already have a preference of which nut you like the best, you probably haven’t thought about the supply chain of your nut of choice… until now.

Which nuts are grown closest to where I live?

It depends on where in the US you live. All of the most popular nuts are grown within the US, with the exception of cashews. If you’re eating an almond, pistachio or walnut, odds are it came from California.

If you’re eating a peanut or pecan, they most-likely were grown in the south from states like Georgia, Texas or Alabama.

Close to 85% of imported cashews comes from Vietnam & India, however these countries also import cashews from other countries around the world.

For this reason, almonds, peanuts, pecans, pistachios and walnuts are great options to minimize transport-related greenhouse gas emissions.

Which nut uses water the most effectively?

Our champion of water usage is the peanut with 550 gallons per pound. Peanuts use the same amount of water as a pound of chicken but with 30% more protein.

The biggest loser is the almond which uses 1,900 gallons of water to produce a pound of nuts. For comparison, a pound of beef, one of the most energy intensive foods, uses 2,100 gallons of water. The remaining nuts (cashews, pecans, pistachios & walnuts) all use between 1,100 - 1,300 gallons to produce a pound of nuts.

Which nut uses land the most effectively?

The walnut takes the top spot for land usage due to its large trees which produce 110 pounds per tree and when farmed industrially produce 5,500 pounds per acre.

Peanuts yield 4,000 pounds per acre which is dramatically higher than the 2,500 pounds per acre that pistachios and almonds produce.

The pecan and the cashew are the loser when it comes to land usage where pecans produce 1,500 pounds per acre and cashews produce 500 pounds per acre.

Which nut is the hardiest?

The hardiest is the pistachio which can adapt to different soil types, are drought-tolerant & are fairly pest resistant. The pecan is also hardy due to their frost tolerance, pest resistance & ability to adapt to different soil types. However, pecan trees require a unique planting pattern involving different tree varieties that reduces their hardiness.

The remaining nuts (almond, cashew, peanut, walnut) are more vulnerable because they have specific water and soil needs that are harder to control with a fluctuating climate.

TIGHT 5

• Pistachios: have nearly 3X more potassium than bananas.

• Peanuts: consume 70% less water than almonds.

• Almonds: are considered one of the healthiest nut due to their nutrient-density, vitamins, antioxidants and minerals.

• Walnuts: have 4X more Omega-3 than salmon.

• Pecan: trees can live for 300 years.

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