Would you like a snack that´s healthy, tasty, easy to take with you in a purse, and which is going to keep you slim? We´ve got it – roasted hazelnuts. Read on to find out its health-boosting qualities and weight-loss benefits.

A whole lot of health benefits

As you´re probably expecting, we´re going to show our admiration for hazelnuts and its awesome health benefits as you can hear it everywhere about them. Hazelnuts are a great snack in every season but in this fall-winter transition, we feel like it´s the right time to bring them to your plates, well, hands. So let´s see why they´re so worth of our attention:
Hazelnuts are 60.5% fat (!). Yes, it is a lot, but since a huge majority of it is unsaturated healthy fats containing oleic acid, they are actually reducing the bad LDL cholesterol and increasing the good HDL one by which it´s preventing heart disease. Moreover, about one handful of them contains almost 50% of RDA of magnesium. The interesting part about this is that magnesium regulates and if needed decreases calcium levels in the body, thus prevents irregular heartbeat and the exhaustion of the heart muscle. Magnesium is also beneficial for muscles after a workout, or to help you de-stress after a busy day at work.
Regarding vitamins, hazelnuts are literally full of vitamin E which in one handful represents 86% of recommended daily allowance. E is known for its skin-aging reduction, it prevents skin damage and cancer from UV light that many women are afraid of when sunbathing on a beach under the palm trees or even going regularly to a solarium. Lastly, it is high in vitamins of the B spectrum which are responsible especially for the nervous system, immunity, stress and depression reduction by release of serotonins, and repairing DNA.

Lose weight and keep it off

It may sound ridiculous that you can lose weight by eating hazelnuts, especially after we told you more than half of them is fat, but it is true. One reason for this is that majority of fat in basically all the nuts is unsaturated beneficial fatty acids (75% mono-unsaturated fats in hazelnuts), which help our body repair cells and actually prevent settling of the fat down in the arteries. Another thing is, several studies have found that despite the high-calorie content of hazelnuts (more than 600kcal for 100g), when eaten regularly, our brain starts to react differently and it is basically satisfied with the nutty snack instead of a chocolate bar, and thus keeps us from eating unhealthy treats. Its content of fat and protein also keeps us feeling full for longer. In 2013, researchers reviewed 31 experiments with adding nuts into people´s diets and found out that on average, people who added nuts on top of their calorific intake or incorporated them within the intake lost approximately 0.6 kg (1.4 pounds) more than the control groups. The interesting fact that wasn´t possible to explain was that some of these people ate more calories overall but still lost weight. We believe this is because of the content of unsaturated fats, as well as in the case of extra virgin olive oil. To be on the safe side though, don´t exceed the recommended daily intake of 20 hazelnuts.

Why roasted?

One and the most obvious reason must be – they are delicious this way. The point is, it is time-consuming to make them at home and unhealthy to buy them from a store and that is why we invite you to get some roasted hazelnuts in Mondieu. Naturally though, we have some health reasons to offer this particular snack and there are a few: Raw nuts can contain bacteria and not just any but the very unpleasant and sometimes dangerous salmonella. In California, it is now forbidden to sell raw nuts after a few horrible incidents of salmonella poisoning. When nuts are roasted, naturally, the bacteria get killed and no further worries would be reasonable. Since we roast them by hot air, the oil inside gets pushed onto the top and basically decreases its calorie content. Although the number is quite negligible, it´s still worth a point. Moreover, even if you roasted them at home on a pan with oil, you wouldn´t have to worry about a fat content since they are so dense that they are not able to take in any more oil. As opposed to Turkey, in Slovakia, it is very hard to find dry-roasted nuts in regular stores. Here you can find mostly roasted-in-oil salted peanuts or sometimes cashews and pistachios. So if you feel like having a healthy tasty snack without added oils or salt, come by and get a small sack of roasted hazelnuts from Mondieu J

by Katarína Vicová

References:
Health Diaries (2011). 8 health benefits of hazelnuts. Retrieved from: http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/8-health-benefits-of-hazelnuts.html
Mercola (2013). More evidence adding nuts is a healthy choice. Retrieved from: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/05/11/eating-nuts.aspx
Moss, M. (2013). Are nuts a weight-loss aid? Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/dining/are-nuts-a-weight-loss-aid.html?_r=0
Nutrition Australia (n.d.). Nuts and health. Retrieved from: http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/frequently-asked-questions/general-nutrition/nuts-and-health
Perkins, S. (n.d.). Health benefits of nuts: Raw vs. roasted. Retrieved from: http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/health-benefits-nuts-raw-vs-roasted-3920.html