Paul Keller
Hazelnuts – healthy or unhealthy? In any case, they are delicious and belong in the winter like tangerines and biscuits. We have found out for you what ingredients they have, what nutritional value, and what vitamins are in them.
If nut, then hazelnut? Or just have a tasty snack? Whether in cake, chocolate or just chopped – hazelnuts are delicious. But are they healthy? You can find out from us what the hazelnut brings as a food.
Hazelnuts: Healthy and tasty fruits
There is hardly any food that polarizes people as much as the delicious hazelnuts. For some flavor carriers at Christmas, in chocolate cream, candied with sugar, simply pure or as ice cream in summer – for others a red rag because of their allergy, or because they just don’t like it. Should there be.
Have hazelnuts been a point of contention for as long as they have been used by humans? Probably, and thus for several thousand years. Because people have long valued the fruits of the common hazel (lat. Corylus avellana) in their diet. One reason is that hazelnuts are healthy.
Hazelnuts are extremely versatile. The nut is popular as an ingredient in many different dishes, mostly sweet, but now also often in savory dishes. They usually give winter dishes a certain extra touch, but this is also due to the fact that hazelnuts have a long shelf life and were therefore important for surviving in winter in the past. In addition, the ingredients of the nuts contained in them are important in winter, when in the past the variety in nutrition became a health hazard.
However, you will often not find the common hazel in the supermarket, but the so-called Lambert hazel (lat. Corylus maxima). It is more sensitive to cold than our native hazel bushes, which is why the healthy nuts are grown in warmer areas. Three quarters of the hazelnuts available worldwide come from Turkey. Other growing areas include Italy and Azerbaijan. But what makes hazelnuts healthy? What ingredients and nutritional values does the food have?
Hazelnuts: ingredients, nutritional values, and vitamins
Hazelnuts are healthy, at least for people who really tolerate them. Because many people are allergic to nuts – sometimes to the pollen, sometimes to the nut itself. For everyone else, hazelnuts are healthy, even if the taste may not be the same for everyone. They have good nutritional values and valuable ingredients such as vitamins and minerals.
The various hazelnut ingredients such as vitamins and minerals are very diverse. In contrast to other nuts, one vitamin in particular stands out in hazelnuts – vitamin E. Its levels in hazelnuts are very high compared to other nuts such as walnuts. But also many B vitamins and minerals – such as a lot of potassium – in hazelnuts make them important for your health and therefore also for your diet.
The following minerals and vitamins are found in hazelnuts, according to Apotheken Umschau and the US Department of Agriculture, among others:
- calcium
- magnesium
- iron
- phosphorus
- zinc
- potassium
- sodium
- copper
- manganese
- selenium
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin B1
- Vitamin B2
- Vitamin B3
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin B9 (folic acid)
- vitamin C
- vitamin E
- beta-carotene
In addition, the hazelnut nutritional values are also interesting. Because although the healthy hazelnuts contain a lot of good trace elements, B vitamins and vitamin E, there is one point that seems to stand in the way of the whole thing: the nuts contain a lot of fat.
A hazelnut consists of over 60% fat – 100 grams of hazelnuts contain around 62 grams of fat, which then provides around 628 kcal for 100 grams of nuts. The hazelnut calories are not even negligible. However, it is something different if you eat a cheeseburger, for example, because hazelnuts mainly contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Saturated fatty acids are contained only in low values.
This makes it easier to look at the calories, because these unsaturated fatty acids ensure that the cholesterol level in the body drops – both LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol. It should also be noted that most people only eat the healthy hazelnuts in small amounts. Therefore, the high fat value is negligible and even brings the body something for the health. That’s why it’s good if nuts play a role in your diet, at least in their raw state. Because the nutrients really come into play.
The other hazelnut nutritional values are not despicable either. Hazelnuts have carbohydrates. The carbohydrates in hazelnuts are around 10g per 100 grams of nuts. Proteins are also found in the form of 12% protein.
The mix of unsaturated fatty acids, carbohydrates and protein makes hazelnuts a valuable part of our diet. So if you don’t have any intolerances, it’s certainly not a mistake to snack on a handful of nuts every now and then. Because then you are definitely not on the wrong side when it comes to healthy eating. Due to the rather high calories, you shouldn’t eat in excess, but this also applies to other foods – the amount ultimately determines whether the body likes the effect of the hazelnuts or not.
Hazelnuts: harmful or unhealthy? Hazelnut borers and incorrect storage
If you have a hazelnut bush in your garden yourself, then that is very nice – as long as you are not allergic. Unsaturated fatty acids and carbohydrates right on the doorstep as a vitamin bomb, who doesn’t like that. However, you should pay attention to a few small things when picking so that you can eat the delicious nut without any problems.
There are a few insects that are harmful to hazelnuts. The so-called hazelnut borer is important for you. This little weevil lays its eggs in the nut, which causes the larvae to develop and feed on the nut shell – the nut that happens to be inside. This causes the shrub or tree to shed the fruit. At some point, the larva finds its way out – it bores through the nut. If your hazelnut is infested and damaged by the hazelnut borer, the bored fruits are useless. You can simply leave the drilled nutshells in the garden. Chickens are among the options for combating the hazelnut borer.
There are numerous other insects that can damage hazelnuts, but incorrect storage can also make hazelnuts unhealthy. Hazelnuts can actually last for several months if they are stored in a cool and dark place. So you can benefit from carbohydrates and unsaturated fatty acids for a long time and enjoy the nut in small amounts without fear that it will go bad.
However, if the fruits are stored at room temperature, they quickly become rancid and no longer taste good. Another danger that makes hazelnuts unhealthy if stored incorrectly is mold. These also develop very well at room temperature, which is why you should pay more attention to where you store your nuts. Then nothing can stand in the way of enjoyment – and if the nuts do taste musty, it’s better to throw them away.
If you also like other nuts, you can eat them all together. Then you take all the advantages of the respective varieties with you and have a few other tastes in your mouth – after all, a hazelnut tastes different than walnuts, peanuts or almonds. Nuts are always healthy.
