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In recent years there has been a slow but continuous increase in attraction to vegetarian or even vegan diets, especially among younger individuals. They offer many health benefits but in order to avoid nutritional deficiencies and to provide all essential nutritional components a vegan diet needs to be planned with more consideration and more knowledge than an omnivorous. Including nuts in a vegan diet can be a cornerstone in a well-balanced and palatable food-pattern.

What does vegan mean?

A vegan diet is a strict form of vegetarianism and is characterized by the total avoidance of products derived from animals. Vegans do not consume any kind of meat, seafood, dairy-products, eggs or any other animal product, such as honey or gelatin. A balanced vegan diet is consisting of plant based foods including fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and grains.

There are only few studies including vegans as an experimental group, but when vegan diets are directly compared to vegetarian and omnivorous diets, they show a variety of protective health benefits. Vegetarian diets conferred protection against metabolic and cardiovascular diseases and also some cancers. Vegan diets in particular provided additional protection against obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular mortality and showed a reduced risk of incidence from total cancer.

Health benefits of nuts

A current scientific review pointed out that higher nut consumption is associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular diseases, that are still No. 1 when it comes to causes of death worldwide, according to the WHO-statistics. However, a 100 % plant-based diet may increase the risk of certain nutritional deficiencies including protein, iron, zinc, calcium, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin B12 and vegans needs to plan the composition of their nutrition with due care. Adding various kinds of nutrient-dense nuts makes a significant contribution to a vegan diet because each kind of nut offers different dietary benefits.

Nuts do not only provide energy, complex carbohydrates with a low glycemic index, fiber and essential fatty acids but also high amounts of protein. Pistachios, almonds  and peanuts are among the protein-rich foods, only 50 g of pistachios contain more protein than a typical egg. The combination of fiber, protein and fat in nuts provides satiety to meals and snacks. Whereas in a mixed diet vitamin B2 (riboflavin) is covered by milk-products and cheese vegans can add almonds, pistachios and cashews. Walnuts are an excellent source of alpha-linolenic acid, an important essential omega 3 fatty acid. Macadamias provide the highest content of health-promoting monounsaturated fatty-acids and are also rich in omega-7-fatty-acids, which are getting more into the scientific focus.

Nuts contribution into a vegan diet

Calcium can be obtained from plant-based foods like almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts and brazil nuts. In addition, the last mentioned has the highest coverage of selenium. When it comes to the supply for zinc, vegans need to make smart choices because the highest amounts are naturally found in animal products like meat and cheese. Again, nuts can make a contribution, especially brazil nuts and pine nuts. It is more difficult to obtain iron from plant-based foods, but the combination with vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables helps absorbing iron from cashews, almonds, pistachios or hazelnuts.

If people choose to live raw-vegan they do not eat cooked foodstuffs. Nuts in a vegan diet are even more important diet because vegans exclude legumes as protein-sources from their diet.

Nuts in a vegan diet do not only provide essential nutrients to prevent deficiencies and one-sidedness but are also an enrichment in flavor and variety. Nuts are characterized by being “ready to eat” and easy to transport as a snack. They can be added to various dishes either cooked, raw or soaked and finely ground for spreads, ice-cream and milk. It can be expected, that vegan eaters can boost the demand for nuts.

How do you perform? If vegan, do you include nuts in your choices?

Ref: International Nut and Dried Fruit Council

Nuts and dry fruits benefits may help to improve our health and to prevent some diseases when included regularly in eating habits. Because of their interesting nutritional profile, some studies have evaluated the impact that nuts have on health and have observed an inverse association between the frequency of nut consumption and cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes and body weight.

In addition, traditional dried fruits also provide essential nutrients, such as fiber and potassium, and a wide range of phytochemicals that have been related to health promotion and antioxidant capacity. Both nuts and dried fruits can be consumed as a snack, on top of cereal, in yogurt, salads and pasta, and can provide us with some important health benefits.

Cardiovascular Disease

The benefits of nuts in relation to CVD  have been widely supported by both epidemiological and clinical trials.

Scientific studies have clearly demonstrated that nut consumption has a cholesterol-lowering effect in the context of a healthy diet. CVD is the number one cause of death in the world. According to the International Society of Hypertension (ISH), high blood pressure (hypertension) is the major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and its prevalence is expected to increase considerably in the coming years. In fact, hypertension is expected to increase to 1.56 billion people worldwide by 2025. Nuts are low in sodium, which has been related to a lower risk of hypertension in some studies. In a 2009 scientific paper, researchers observed that nut consumption was associated with a lower risk of hypertension.

A study published in 2015 observed that tree nut intake was associated with a decrease in total cholesterol, LDL, “bad,” cholesterol and triglycerides. It also asserted that nut consumption in general, rather than just a specific type, was the major reason for the decrease. A new systematic review and meta-analysis of 18 high quality clinical studies, published in 2016, also reported that almond consumption reduces both total and bad (LDL and non-HDL) cholesterol levels. According to another study, walnuts may improve endothelial function, decrease both oxidative stress and some markers of inflammation, and increase cholesterol efflux.

There have been some scientific studies on dried fruits and cardiometabolic risk factors suggesting that they can help lower the postprandial insulin response, modulate sugar absorption, promote satiety and have a beneficial effect on blood pressure. In a study published in 2009, researchers observed that simply replacing one unhealthy snack per day with fruits, dried fruits or unsalted nuts was associated with lower cardiovascular risk, which may prevent approximately 6,000 cases of CVD per year in the UK.

Nuts and dry fruits benefits in Weight Control

Nuts not only offer nutritional benefits, but may help to control body weight. This is especially important as obesity rates continue to rise across developed nations.

While nuts have a high energy content, several studies found that frequent nut consumption was not associated with a higher body mass index. Some research has shown that nuts may have high satiety properties. In fact, long-term nut consumption is associated with lower weight gain and overweight/obesity.

Nuts and dry fruits benefits in Type 2 Diabetes

Benefits of nuts may also help reduce the risk of diabetes. The number of people with diabetes has risen from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014, becoming a serious public health problem. A number of studies have investigated the effect of nut consumption on diabetes risk. In particular, a 2011 PREDIMED study observed a 52% reduction in diabetes incidence in two experimental groups supplemented with olive oil or 30 g (1 oz) of nuts (a mix of walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts) per day, compared with the control group.

Research suggests that dried fruit consumption is also good for people who have diabetes. A study by Louisville Metabolic and Atherosclerotic Research Center observed that consuming raisins as an alternative to processed snacks resulted in a significant 23% reduction in postprandial glucose levels.

Gastrointestinal Function

Dried fruits are well-known sources of dietary fiber, which has a direct effect on gastrointestinal function. In 2013, prunes were granted a specific EU health claim for their contribution to digestive health. The permitted health claim reads: “Dried plums/prunes contribute to normal bowel function”. Eating 100 g of prunes (3.5 oz, 8-12 pieces) daily promotes good digestive health and provides more than 19% of the daily recommended intake of fiber. There is also scientific evidence that suggests that prunes may improve stool frequency and consistency in cases of constipation.

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a debilitating disorder that affects both men and women. Aside from existing drug therapies, certain lifestyle and nutritional factors are known to reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Among nutritional factors, recent observations suggest that prunes may be helpful in both preventing and reversing bone loss. In addition, a 2011 study suggests that prunes may improve the bone mineral density in postmenopausal women.

Did you know about the benefits of nuts and dried fruits? Do you include them within your regular eating habits?

Source: International Nut and Dried Fruit Council