Get to know your nuts!
Most of us have heard about activating your almonds and how walnuts are brain food, but how much do you know about the great Aussie nut – the macadamia?
These little balls of goodness, that are both crunchy and creamy, are native to Australia and we now export them to more than 40 countries. But for years we’ ve avoided them due to their high fat content.
The world is quickly catching on to the nutritional benefits of this Australian bush food. Research continues to remove the stigma associated with dietary fat and scientists are now proving that there are numerous health benefits to having healthy fats as a part of your diet. The two that most people are aware of are unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats( also called omega-3 and omega-6). Like most things in our diets, it’ s all about balance. Macadamias can help balance out the omega-3 / omega-6 fatty acid ratio in our diets. Why is this important? Because it can help with minimising diseases associated with chronic inflammation, such as osteoarthritis and autoimmune diseases.
Nuts have a considerable amount of healthy fats. However, when you look closely at the amount of omega-6 in macadamias, compared to other nuts, you’ ll see why macadamias are leading the charge.
Amount of omega-6 fats per 100g of nuts |
Walnuts: |
10.7g |
Pecans: |
3.7g |
Almonds: |
3.4g |
Cashews: |
2.2g |
Macadamia nuts: |
0.36g |
There’ s almost no omega-6 in macadamia nuts – it’ s less than you would find in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. In this respect, the fat profile of macadamia nuts closely mirrors that of avocados and olive oil. Yay!
So why is this significant?
Omega-3 and omega-6 fats both play a role in producing signalling chemicals that cause the body to become inflamed. The latest studies show that omega-6 fats are pro-inflammatory, while omega-3 fats are antiinflammatory. So, if your ratio of omega-6 fats to omega-3 fats is significantly out of balance, your body’ s inflammation is likely to be more severe and prolonged. If you can reduce the inflammation in your body, you can reduce the severity or minimise the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. This is why the Mediterranean diet has become so popular – it’ s rich in Omega-3, sourced mainly from olive oil and fish.
Two recent studies of both mice 1 and humans 2 showed that the daily consumption of macadamias reduced inflammation and reduced fat cell enlargement. The authors suggested that this was due to the low omega-6 content of macadamia nuts, which increased the omega-3 / omega-6 fat ratio.
All this scientific talk means that when incorporated into a balanced diet, macadamia nuts, may help to lower overall fat stores and minimise the risk of developing serious diseases associated with chronic inflammation. However, they are still calorie dense, so if using them as a snack, best to keep it to a handful only.
Assoc. Prof. Megan Chircop- Body Sculptors Australia- 0438 195 535 bodysculptorsaustralia @ gmail. com- www. bodysculptorsaustralia. com bodysculptorsaustralia- bodysculptorsaustralia
1 Macadamia oil supplementation attenuates inflammation and adipocyte hypertrophy in obese mice / 2 A macadamia nut-rich diet reduces total and LDL-cholesterol in mildly hypercholesterolemic men and women
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