Interesting Health Facts Related To Peanuts
- Peanuts are a rich source of fats that ranges around 44 – 56%.
- They are low in carbs and high in protein fats, which makes it suitable for the people suffering from diabetes.
- Peanuts have a rich amount of Niacin that helps in reducing the risk of heart disorders.
- Peanuts gift you with phosphorus that helps in the growth of various body tissues and its maintenance too.
- The pregnant women are widely advised to have a suggested quantity of peanuts as they are the best sources of dietary biotin.
- People generally avoid the skin of peanuts. However, the antioxidants in the peanuts are located in its skin, which are rarely eaten.
- Peanuts are rich in calories and fats; however, it doesn’t support weight gain.
- If you avoid proper chewing of peanuts, the unchewed portion would directly get removed from the digestive system without absorbing it.
Peanuts – A Short Summary
Remember, chewing nuts in your leisure time or while studying, watching movies, etc.! Yes, we are talking about the peanuts that have an important place in the routine of many people not only in India but abroad too. Popularly known as groundnuts, mungfali, pallelu, singdana, shengdaane, and many more, they are included in the list of various ingredients to tasty recipes or evening snacks also, as they are available round the year.
The peanuts originally are the members of the legume family, but they contain the properties similar to cashew nuts, almonds, etc. due to which it is included in the nut family. The nuts are quite healthy to maintain your health, as they contain unsaturated fatty acids along with other nutrients. As they come with an affordable price, and they can also be stored easily, they have a good place in the groceries of every kitchen.
Health Benefits Of Peanuts
Peanuts are considered to be the treasure box to various nutrients. They provide you with a good quantity of fat, calories, antioxidants, dietary proteins, omega 3 fatty acids, fiber, vitamin E, Vitamin B1, copper, manganese, molybdenum, biotin, phosphorus, and much more that are required in the daily nutrition list. Hence, they provide you with various health benefits whether you are having it raw, fried, roasted, boiled or in the form of its oil.
Here are some of the health benefits of peanuts.
1. Benefits Of Peanuts For Weight Loss
This might shock you, but peanuts do help you in reducing your weight. No doubt they are rich sources of fats and calories, they still help you in reducing your weight or maintaining it if taken in a suggested quantity. When you consume peanuts, it limits the intake of other main course items, which helps in controlling your diet. Peanuts also provide you with a good quantity of insoluble dietary fiber, that help in controlling your weight. They also serve as a good substitute to other ingredients that are rich in fats and would add to your weight. Hence, peanuts reduce the chances of obesity and help in maintaining a healthy weight.
2. Good For Your Heart
Heart disorders have been the prime reason leading to death these days. Peanuts can help in the protection against heart diseases like nervous diseases, viral infections, fungal infections, Alzheimer’s diseases, etc. Peanuts have nutrients like magnesium, oleic acid, niacin, antioxidants and copper, that work as Resveratrol and mechanize to reduce the effects of heart disorders. Hence, if you want to prevent your heart from getting affected with any disease, have a handful of peanuts.
3. Prevents From Gallstones
Gallstones are catching the kidneys of various youths these days. Nearly 3 out of 10 people are found suffering from it. Peanuts can help you in cutting down the risk of developing gallstones for both men and women. The gallstones are formed mainly due to the excess of cholesterol in the body. While peanuts carry a property of lowering the effects of cholesterol in the body. Hence, peanuts help in cutting down the cholesterol in the body, that also reduces the chances of developing gallstones.
4. Provides You With Bulk Energy
Peanuts are rich sources of minerals, various vitamins, anti-oxidants and other nutrients, that are helpful in providing required energy levels in the body. Having a handful of peanuts in any form would provide your body with the daily quota of energy you require for your daily tasks.
5. Reduces Coronary Diseases
When it comes to cholesterol, the body contains two different types of cholesterol namely the bad cholesterol and the good cholesterol. Peanuts are useful in reducing the bad cholesterol and increase the level of good cholesterol. Peanuts are filled with mono-saturated fatty acids, along with oleic acids that help in controlling your cholesterol levels, that indirectly help in reducing the chances of coronary diseases.
6. Benefits Of Peanuts Helps In Proper Growth
Is your body lacking required growth and development! Peanuts can help you gain your losses. They are rich sources of proteins and other amino acids. Hence, having them on a regular basis in proper quantity would help you in proper development and growth of your body, tissues, cells, etc.
7. Fighting Against Stomach Cancer
As mentioned above, peanuts are high in ingredients like poly-phenolic anti-oxidant, and P-Coumaric acid, that have the ability to deal with stomach cancer. These concentrations have the ability to reduce the chances of developing stomach cancer. They are also helpful in lowering the production of carcinogenic nitrous amines. Hence, having peanuts would help in protection as well as fighting against stomach cancer.
8. Help For A Healthy Skin
Peanuts come with a good quantity of Vitamin E. Vitamin E is quite necessary for having a healthy skin. Peanuts help in maintaining the probity of the cells of the mucous membrane along with the skin too. In this way, you can protect your skin from the free radicals that damage the skin by reducing its adverse effects, and controlling them. Hence, peanuts are beneficial for having a glowing and clear skin.
9. Increase Your Fertility
Peanuts are best in folic acid that plays a vital role in increasing fertility when taken before pregnancy. It is also helpful when consumed in adequate amount during pregnancy. It helps in lowering the risk of the baby having neural tube defects during birth. Hence, it is quite helpful before and during pregnancy.
10. Controls Blood Sugar Levels
Yes, it is true. Peanuts help in controlling the blood sugar levels in the body. They are quite beneficial for the patients of diabetes. They gift you with a good amount of manganese that help in absorbing the calcium in the body. It also helps in the metabolism of the fats and carbohydrates that have a good impact on the sugar levels by regulating the blood. Hence, if you are suffering from diabetes, have some peanuts to control it.
11. Helps In Fighting Against Depression
When your body lacks required serotonin levels that is a chemical controlling your stress, it leads to depression. Peanuts come with tryptophan that is helpful in releasing the chemicals that helps in fighting against depression. Having some peanuts on daily basis, or having peanut butter in adequate quantity would help you get rid of the chances of having depression and maintain your stress levels too.
12. Beneficial For A Healthy Brain
Your nerve cells in the brain are quite important to maintain its functioning. It helps in controlling the stress levels and also allows you to have a control on your mood. Peanuts contain a good level of fatty acids in it that are very important for the nerve cells of the brain. They help in managing the stress levels and also prevents from mood swings too. Along with this, they are also beneficial for various skin problems like dullness, fine lines and wrinkles.
13. Protects From The UV Rays
The process of oxidation results to skin damages. Due to oxidation, the unstable molecules grab the electrons from the good cells or say healthy cells which damages the skin. This damage to the skin can be protected through Vitamin E that is found in peanuts. They help in protecting the skin from the harsh effects of the UV rays from the sun, and also help in the protection against sunburn. Hence, have peanuts for a healthy and protected skin.
14. Benefits Of Peanuts For Wounds And Bruises
Apart from various health and skin benefits, peanuts carry healing properties. It comes with a bulk of Beta Carotene and Vitamin A, that are crucial nutrients when want to heal wounds. Vitamin A holds a crucial role in the formation, growth and repair of the body skin and tissues which helps in healing various wounds quickly. It is also helpful in the treatment of bruises.
15. Good For Your Hair
Peanuts are good sources of omega 3 fatty acids, larginine, and Vitamin E, that are helpful in problems like weak scalp, damaged hair follicles, less hair growth, and much more. Peanuts help in a healthy growth of hair that provides strength to the hair follicles and the scalp that helps in a healthy growth of hair. Peanuts ensures a good flow of blood in the body and prevents from blood clots, that makes your hair strong and healthy, especially for men suffering from baldness. It strengthens the brittle, dry and weak hair and helps in keeping them strong and healthy.
16. Benefits Of Peanuts Prevents From Strokes
Peanuts are a good source of resveratrol that helps in improving the flow of your blood in your brain. This helps in reducing the chances of facing strokes. Resveratrol helps in the gathering and releasing of nitric oxide that also helps in relaxing your muscles, dilation of your blood vessels, and also increases the flow of your blood. Hence, in this way, with the help of proper blood circulation, peanuts help in protecting you from the risks of strokes.
Hence, peanuts play a vital role in various health benefits. Even a handful of peanuts every day would help you in obtaining all the required nutrients not only for your health but for your skin and hair too.
Adverse Effects Of Having Peanuts
Yes, just as there are benefits of having peanuts, there are also some adverse effects you might face while consuming them. There are few people who are allergic to peanuts and hence, avoid them. They also give side effects when they get contaminated due to aflatoxin, which is a toxic substance that is produced by the molds. The excess of peanuts would also result into heartburn and gas.
Here are some of the widely observed side effects of consuming peanuts.
1. Increase In Weight
No doubt having a handful of peanuts would help you in losing some extra calories from your body. However, having it in excess quantity would also increase your weight. The reason behind it is that peanuts are filled with fats and calories that would increase your weight if you cross the limit of its intake. When fried, it adds some more calories to the peanuts, resulting in weight gain.
2. Nutrient Deficiency
Peanuts make your tummy full quickly. Hence, when you have it in excess, you avoid having other healthy ingredients in the form of meals. This leads to unbalanced diet habits, that would increase the chances of nutrient deficiency in the body. This can also harm your body on negative grounds that would also affect your weight. Peanuts are low in carbohydrates, hence, avoiding meals that have a required portion of carbohydrates would lead to imbalances and would also harm your energy levels.
3. Absorption Of Minerals
Peanuts provide you with phosphorus that comes in the form of phytate or phytic acid. While consuming peanuts, this acid mixes up with other minerals like calcium, zinc and manganese, that are quite important for the body. As a result, the body fails to obtain the benefits of the minerals, leading to its deficiency. Hence, having too many peanuts would affect your iron and zinc levels.
4. Increase In Blood Pressure
Love having those salted peanuts! Beware! They can increase your blood pressure levels. The raw peanuts are sodium free and thus help in maintaining the sugar levels and the pressure levels in your blood. But consuming handful or more salted peanuts would increase the sodium levels in your body, that would boost the blood pressure, leading to chances of stroke or other cardiovascular diseases.
People having allergy from peanuts would find an itching sensation when they consume peanuts on the skin. This can also lead to swelling of the face, mouth, throat, etc. Other possible reactions of having peanuts are asthma attacks, anaphylactic shocks, the problem in breathing, rashes, stomach upsets, diarrhea, hives, and even death in serious conditions. There are some people who face this allergy in childhood, but as they enter into adolescence, they get relief from the allergy. While there are some who walk with the allergy throughout the year.
The peanuts are surely helpful in various health problems; however, they also contaminate due to aflatoxin that is produced due to any kind of aspergillus flavus or any kind of fungus. This is toxic as well as carcinogenic, that carry the risk of the growth of liver carcinoma. Hence, once the peanuts turn greenish yellow, they are harmful to eat. It is also recommended that people who are suffering from stagnancy of dampness, cold or lingering diarrhea should avoid peanuts.
So, have an adequate quantity of peanuts and gift yourself a fit health.
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