Do You Know the Health Benefits of Hazelnuts?

The problem with the hazelnut is that it is a hugely under utilized cultivar.  It is ideal for hedgerow plantings.  It is ideal for shake harvesting.  Few bushes are tougher.

We will transition from flat field cropping to two combine swath wide fields separated by a living hedgerow.  something that also produces tons of edible nuts is a great idea.  The hazelnut is close to ideal for just that.  The wilds are chokeberry and other odd fruiting trees.  Hazelnuts have few bird problems.

The Whole Midwest can use this plant.  Hardier varieties can be used to cover the Canadian prairies.

My point is that I have been pushing fencerow multiculture without a best solution cultivar able to optimize the fence row. This is obvious.

Thus a hundred foot wide field can give up 20 feet of fence row for 80 percent crop use. The leaf fall will provide soil enrichment generally as well for a general increase in crop fertility.

Do You Know the Health Benefits of Hazelnuts?

https://wakeup-world.com/2022/01/25/do-you-know-the-health-benefits-of-hazelnuts/

January 25th, 2022

By Sayer Ji

Contributing writer for Wake Up World

Nuts are a nutrient-dense food that contain healthy fats, protein, fiber, minerals and phenolic compounds. They are thought to offer wide-ranging cardiovascular and metabolic benefits and can be readily integrated into a balanced diet.[i]

The hazelnut, which comes from the Corylus tree of the Betulaceae family, offers a sweet flavor and the flexibility of being eaten raw, roasted or as a paste in ground form.

It’s considered an excellent anti-inflammatory and hypolipidemic treat, being the second richest source of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) among nuts and being chock full of vitamin E, magnesium, copper, selenium, L-arginine, folate, fiber and polyphenols, to name a few.[ii] Here are five evidence-based benefits of hazelnuts.

1. Antioxidant Protection

Hazelnuts have one of the highest oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) scores of any nut, signifying outstanding levels of antioxidants.[iii] These chemicals protect the body from oxidative stress, which can damage cells, accelerate aging and promote disease.[iv],[v]

As testament to their antioxidant prowess, a hazelnut-enriched diet modulates oxidative stress and inflammatory gene expression without causing weight gain.[vi] Compounds of the tiny, mighty nut have been found to have antioxidant and antimicrobial effects.[vii]

Hazelnuts also contain the antioxidant vitamin E, which some studies indicate may help shield the body from cell damage linked to cancer.[viii]

2. Antiobesity Strategy

Proteins derived from hazelnuts are an excellent source of bioactive peptides. A 2019 study purified and identified antiobesity peptides from the nut, finding that the novel synthetic pentapeptide had potential antiobesity effects and may help combat metabolic conditions.[ix]

In a European study involving over 370,000 men and women ranging from 25 to 70 years old, higher intake of nuts was associated with reduced weight gain along with a lower risk of becoming obese or overweight.[x]

3. Improved Cardiovascular Health

The MUFAs and antioxidants in hazelnuts have been tied to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.[xi] In an intervention diet lasting up to 84 days with a dosage of hazelnuts ranging from 29 to 69 grams a day, it emerged that a hazelnut-enriched diet can decrease LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol, without substantially changing HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and body mass index (BMI).[xii]

According to separate research, a high-fat, high-MUFA hazelnut diet proved superior to a low-fat diet in terms of creating favorable changes in lipid profiles, therefore positively affecting coronary heart disease risk in the subjects.[xiii]

The high fatty acid content as well as fiber, antioxidants, potassium and magnesium, in the nuts also seemed to help normalize blood pressure levels.[xiv] In a randomized study, the combination of hazelnut and cocoa acted in a synergistic and protective way on the cardiovascular system.[xv]

4. Lower Blood Sugar Levels

Largely due to their micro and macronutrient profiles, nuts are believed to help control blood glucose levels.[xvi] They are low in available carbs, offer a healthy fatty acid profile and are high in fiber, plant protein and magnesium. In a study that combined hazelnuts with walnuts and almonds for metabolic syndrome patients, the results also reflected reduced fasting insulin levels.[xvii]

5. Potential Use Against Cancer

The high concentration of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals along with other nutrients in hazelnuts may also give the nut some anticancer action.

In a study, the nuts’ shell extract provided antioxidant effects and cytotoxic activity against human cancer cell lines.[xviii] “The cytotoxic activity relies on the presence of the neolignans (balanophonin), and phenol derivatives (gallic acid), showing a pro-apoptotic effect on the tested cell lines,” the researchers wrote.

Results from a separate study suggested a potential use of hazelnut extracts against cervical cancer, hepatocarcinoma and breast cancer.[xix]

Learn more about hazelnuts from study abstracts on the GreenMedInfo.com database. Incorporate these nuts into your diet as a snack or a component of many different dishes, enjoying them raw, roasted, sliced, ground or even whole. Peeled hazelnuts can also be turned into flour for healthy baking or as a nutrient-filled spread.

References:[i] Ros E “Health Benefits of Nut Consumption” Nutrients. 2010 Jul; 2(7): 652-682. Epub 2010 Jun 24.

[ii] Di Renzo L et al “A Hazelnut-Enriched Diet Modulates Oxidative Stress and Inflammation Gene Expression without Weight Gain” Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2019; 2019: 4683723. Epub 2019 Jul 4.

[iii] Phytochemicals.info https://www.phytochemicals.info/list-orac-values.php

[iv] Sinha N et al “Oxidative stress and antioxidants in hypertension-a current review” Curr Hypertens Rev. 2015;11(2):132-42.

[v] Frijhoff J et al “Clinical Relevance of Biomarkers of Oxidative Stress” Antioxid Redox Signal. 2015 Nov 10;23(14):1144-70. Epub 2015 Oct 26.

[vi] Di Renzo L et al “A Hazelnut-Enriched Diet Modulates Oxidative Stress and Inflammation Gene Expression without Weight Gain” Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2019; 2019: 4683723. Epub 2019 Jul 4.

[vii] Cerulli A et al “Cyclic Diarylheptanoids from Corylus avellana Green Leafy Covers: Determination of Their Absolute Configurations and Evaluation of Their Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities” J Nat Prod. 2017 Jun 23 ;80(6):1703-1713. Epub 2017 May 18.

[viii] Algahtani S et al “Vitamin E Transporters in Cancer Therapy” AAPS J. 2015 Mar; 17(2): 313-322. Epub 2014 Dec 3.

[ix] Wang J et al “Novel anti-obesity peptide (RLLPH) derived from hazelnut protein hydrolysates inhibits adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes by regulating adipogenic transcription factors and adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation” J Biosci Bioeng. 2019 Oct 17. Epub 2019 Oct 17.

[x] Freisling H et al “Nut intake and 5-year changes in body weight and obesity risk in adults: results from the EPIC-PANACEA study” Eur J Nutr. 2017 Jul 21; 57:2399-2408.

[xi] Perna S et al “Effects of Hazelnut Consumption on Blood Lipids and Body Weight: A Systematic Review and Bayesian Meta-Analysis” Nutrients. 2016 Nov 25 ;8(12). Epub 2016 Nov 25.

[xii] Perna S et al “Effects of Hazelnut Consumption on Blood Lipids and Body Weight: A Systematic Review and Bayesian Meta-Analysis” Nutrients. 2016 Nov 25 ;8(12). Epub 2016 Nov 25.

[xiii] Mercanligil S et al “Effects of hazelnut-enriched diet on plasma cholesterol and lipoprotein profiles in hypercholesterolemic adult men” Nutr J. 2009 Jul 22;8(1):34.

[xiv] Mohammadifard N et al “The effect of tree nut, peanut, and soy nut consumption on blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials” Am J Clin Nutr. 2015 May;101(5):966-82. Epub 2015 Mar 25.

[xv] Adamo M et al “Effects of hazelnuts and cocoa on vascular reactivity in healthy subjects: a randomised study” Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2017 Jul 9:1-12. Epub 2017 Jul 9.

[xvi] Kendall C et al “Health benefits of nuts in prevention and management of diabetes” Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2010;19(1):110-6.

[xvii] Casas-Agustench P et al “Effects of one serving of mixed nuts on serum lipids, insulin resistance and inflammatory markers in patients with the metabolic syndrome” Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2011 Feb;21(2):126-35. doi: Epub 2009 Dec 22.

[xviii] Esposito T et al “Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) Shells Extract: Phenolic Composition, Antioxidant Effect and Cytotoxic Activity on Human Cancer Cell Lines” Int J Mol Sci. 2017 Feb 13 ;18(2). Epub 2017 Feb 13.

[xix] Gallego A et al “Viability-reducing activity of Coryllus avellana L. extracts against human cancer cell lines” Biomed Pharmacother. 2017 May ;89:565-572. Epub 2017 Mar 1.