Winter Food

It is at the time of winter that we may indulge in higher dense foods. In the cold winter we have a higher need for nutrients to keep our bodies warm, yet according to our climates our winters can be mild and the difference in needs may be barely noticeable. Nuts are ideal for cold seasons and often we associate the roasted chestnuts with the northern hemispheres’ year end celebrations. Nuts grow on trees, and some on bushes, and they are perfect foods to store as they have protective shells. The shells are hard and inedible. Although we may delight in collecting nuts, not all are tasty and suitable for humans.

You might even imagine a squirrel hoarding away nuts, in their hard shells. Of all the nuts the Brazil nuts are the hardest to crack. Brazil nuts are sourced from the Amazon in South America. These nuts are the main high suppliers of a micro-mineral called selenium. It’s advisable to not have more than a few Brazil nuts daily as excessive selenium can cause toxicity. When we supplement selenium it is usually 100mcg and five times over that can lead to toxicity. The official recommendation is to not ever supplement more than 450mcg daily. Our soils may be depleted in various nutrients, specifically the micro-minerals. Acidic rain can also decreases selenium in plants and this happened in Finland. It is extensive farming, with application of pesticides and fertilizers, without regard to balance; only crop yield that can cause micro-mineral soil deficiencies. These micro-minerals in the soil need to be replaced, when farming, to regain balance in the soil levels and consequently the heath of plants.

Try to not fall into the belief that one nutritional analysis will cover all sources of the same food. Let’s take nuts, pistachio and cashew can have from about 30 – 55% fat and it depends on where and how they were grown. The nutritional levels of plant foods are dependent on the type of soil, the geographical habitat with climate. Generally colder climates produce foods with more fat to supply the dense fat nutrients needed for survival and maintenance in increased energy production. We use more energy in colder weather. In soils selenium has been deficient as in Australia, New Zealand, Finland and some sections of China this is especially significant for those inhabitants. To offset deficiencies of this essential mineral we can have one or two Brazil nuts daily.

Selenium wards away cancer and heart disease, while assisting with its insurance against toxic heavy metals. Selenium is important as an antioxidant to fight against environmental toxins, among other toxins. To determine our selenium levels we measure certain antioxidants that require selenium. By being a significant partner in detoxification, selenium enables us to be protected against disease and toxicity. We only require a certain amount of selenium and it is worth keeping mineral intakes in balance.

Allergies can be linked to nuts and packaged foods should list all ingredients to save against nut allergy symptoms. For people where there is no risk of nut allergy these foods are delectable. There is the sweet almost vanilla-like almond. Nuts may be high in fat yet they are extremely healthy. The fats are mostly monounsaturated and they supply high omega 6 but negligible omega 3 fatty acids. While we can have moderate nut intakes we should take care to have fish, linseeds or other sources of omega 3 to ensure balance amongst the essential fatty acids. Almond nuts are the highest in calcium and Brazil nuts are the highest in magnesium amongst the nuts. We have produced oils from nuts and nuts have a long history of use. They are often salted if pre-shelled. The candlenut or kukui nut in Hawaii is so high in oil that it was a popular used light or candle torch before electricity and other forms of lamp lights. One of the oldest known edible nuts are pistachio, which has a semi-opened shell. Macadamia nuts are among the more expensive nuts and originate from Australia. Their taste has been aligned to that of a hazel nut.

There are various types of nuts, such as walnuts, pecan, cashew, pine, hazel and chestnuts with subclasses. Among the chestnuts there are Chosun or Japanese nuts grown in Korea and Japan. There’re smaller varieties known as European chestnuts and the smallest are American chestnuts. Sweet chestnuts are also known as Spanish chestnuts as they were introduced to the British Isles, by Romans, from Spain.

Horse chestnuts are another type and not consumed by humans. Apparently pigs dislike horse chestnuts while horses disfavour them more often than not. Yet deer and sheep do not seem to mind eating them. Why shouldn’t we eat horse chestnuts? They have high levels of tannic acid. This is a poisonous substance. Tannin is a form of it that has effects such as constipation due to being an astringent. Tannin is useful to help in excessive discharges as in bleeding or mucous production in some cases. Why we should not eat raw chestnuts? Unlike other nuts that are best eaten raw for health, chestnuts should be cooked due to holding some tannic acid, especially in the skins around the kernel (inner edible nut). The nut is peeled before preparation. To make roasted nuts and avoid an explosion, always insert cuts into it prior to roasting. As with the baking of potatoes or squash, we need to let the internal tension of steam to have a route to be released. Chestnuts are the only nuts that are low in fat (usually nuts may be about 70% fat with little carbohydrates). Chestnuts are high in carbohydrates relative to other nuts and this enables us to ground cooked chestnuts and produce chestnut flour.

Our history of deriving flour from nuts, due to difficult predicaments, has included acorn flour to replace wheat flour. Did you know acorns can be an ingredient for coffee bean substitutes? Acorns are the nuts from the acorn tree. While acorn flour has and still does have practical use nutritional one must be vigilant in its preparation. The process of grounding our flour from acorns is timely and requires removal of tannin. If you try eating acorns you should notice the bitter taste that is the poisonous tannin. There is a reason it does not taste as other edible nuts do. Watch your nut intakes, there are numerous types.

Wherever we may live, nuts hold an important place in our quest for health as they are high in minerals and Vitamin E. Vitamin E also has roles as an antioxidant. Nuts are used in bakery products, salads, and other foods. We should preferably have them raw soon after cracking them open, with exception to chestnuts. When we can most times they should be eaten uncooked, with exception to chestnuts, to avoid rancid fats (omega 6 fatty acids can quickly degrade due to heat and air exposure). Time to store nuts, while they are being best stored within their shells.

Anastacia Sampson