All About Nuts: A Steam Group Dedicated To Nuts

A nut is a fruit composed of an inedible hard shell and a seed, which is generally edible. In general usage, a wide variety of dried seeds are called nuts, but in a botanical context "nut" implies that the shell does not open to release the seed. The translation of "nut" in certain languages frequently requires paraphrases, as the word is ambiguous.

Most seeds come from fruits that naturally free themselves from the shell, unlike nuts such as hazelnuts, chestnuts, and acorns, that the hard shell walls and originate from a compound ovary. The general usage of the term is less restrictive, and many nuts, such as almonds, pecans, pistachios, walnuts, and Brazil nuts, are not nuts in a botanical sense. Common usage of the term often refers to any hard, edible kernel as a nut.

Nuts are an important source of nutrients for both humans and wildlife. Because nuts have a high oil content, they are a highly prized food and energy source. A large number of nuts are edible by humans and used in cooking, eaten raw, sprouted, or roasted as a snack food, or pressed for oil that is used in cookery and cosmetics.

Nuts are also a significant source of nutrition for wildlife. This is particularly true in temperate climates where animals such as jays and squirrels store acorns and other nuts during the autumn to keep from starving during their hibernation period.

Nuts are the source of energy and nutrients for the new plant. They contain a relatively large quantity of calories, essential unsaturated and monounsaturated fats including linoleic acid and linolenic acid, vitamins, and essential amino acids. Many nuts are good sources of vitamin E, vitamin B2, folate, fiber, and the essential minerals magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and selenium. Nuts are most healthy in their raw unroasted form, because roasting can significantly damage and destroy fats during the process. Unroasted walnuts have twice as many antioxidants as other nuts or seeds. It is controversial whether increasing dietary antioxidants confers benefit or harm.
People who eat nuts regularly have better health outcomes. This includes less coronary heart disease , less cancer, and lower chances of death.

Nuts were first linked to protection against CHD in 1993. Eating various nuts such as almonds and walnuts can lower serum low density lipoprotein concentrations. Although nuts contain various substances thought to possess cardioprotective effects, their omega 3 fatty acid profile is at least in part responsible for the hypolipidemic response. Nuts have a very low glycemic index due to their high unsaturated fat and protein content and relatively low carbohydrate content. Consequently, dietitians frequently recommend that nuts be included in diets of people with insulin resistance such as Type 2 diabetes mellitus. One study found that people who eat nuts live two to three years longer than those who do not. However, this may be because people who eat nuts tend to eat less junk food.