Nuts Roasting Machine

Nutrient Content of Nuts

Nuts are clearly nutrient dense foods. With the exception of chestnuts, which contain little fat, nuts

have a high total fat content, ranging from 46% in cashews and pistachios to 76% in macadamia nuts,

and they provide 20 to 30 kJ/g (Table 1). Thus, nuts are one of the natural plant foods richest in fat

after vegetable oils. However, the fatty acid composition of nuts is beneficial because the saturated

fatty acid (SFA) content is low (4–16%) and nearly half of the total fat content is made up of

unsaturated fat, monounsaturated fatty acids MUFA (oleic acid) in most nuts, similar proportions of

MUFA and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), mostly linoleic acid, in Brazil nuts, a predominance of

PUFA over MUFA in pine nuts, and mostly PUFA, both linoleic acid and a-linolenic acid (ALA), the

plant omega-3 fatty acid, in walnuts [6]. With regard to walnuts, it must be underlined that they are a

whole food with the highest content in ALA of all edible plants [28]. As discussed below, the

particular lipid profile of nuts in general and walnuts in particular is likely to be an important

contributor to the beneficial health effects of frequent nut consumption.