Healthy Snack? Consider Macadamia Nuts!

Many of us love macadamia nuts because they have a slight buttery taste. Some of us probably regularly eat chocolate-coated macadamia. The good news is that these nuts are rich in nutrients that are beneficial for our health. Learn more about the macadamia nuts benefits here. 

Science-Backed Macadamia Nuts Benefits 

Are you wondering about the benefits your body gets from the consumption of macadamia nuts? Here they are:

Nutrition

First on our list of macadamia nuts benefits is nutrition: 100 g of these nuts can give you:

• 716 kcal (for energy)
• 8 g of fiber 
• 12.8 g of carbohydrates 
• 7.79 g of protein
• 76.1 g of total lipid or fats 

Furthermore, these nuts can give you numerous micronutrients, like calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and folate. 

Heart Boost

Are you worried about your heart health? Or perhaps you just want to boost its health? If so, consider consuming macadamia nuts from time to time. 

Several studies have pointed out that one of the macadamia nuts benefits is that it (as well as other tree nuts) might help protect the heart by:

• Lowering the total cholesterol and LDL (bad cholesterol)²
• Increasing the levels of HDL (good cholesterol)³

Reduces Inflammation

Did you know that macadamia has some of the highest levels of flavonoids among tree nuts? These are antioxidants that neutralize free radicals that may trigger inflammation⁴. 

Chronic inflammation is associated with numerous serious diseases, such as cancer, Alzheimer Disease, Type 2 Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and other heart diseases. 

Protection Against or Improvement of Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes

Metabolic syndrome pertains to a group of factors occurring together that raise a person’s risk of developing serious illnesses like stroke and type 2 diabetes. They include high blood pressure, high blood sugar, low good cholesterol, and high triglycerides. 

Interestingly, one of the potential macadamia nuts benefits is that it can improve or protect against metabolic syndrome in people with t⁵. This is because they are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs)

On top of that, macadamia nuts also have a low glycemic index, which means it doesn’t affect blood sugar that much. 

Protection Against Cancer

Flavonoids have cancer-fighting properties and macadamia nuts also contain a type of vitamin E that’s reported to have powerful anticancer properties⁶. 

However, please note that the study about vitamin E is animal-based. Hence, we need further research on this. 

Reminders When Consuming Macadamia Nuts

Do you want to make the most of the possible macadamia nuts benefits? Keep these tips in mind:

• While we based the nutritional content on 100g, note that a healthy serving is way LESS than that. Reports say a serving should only be about 10 pieces or about an ounce. Macadamia nuts are calorie-dense, so be careful with overeating. 
• As much as possible, consume raw macadamia. If you can’t, consider the dry-roasted variety instead. Avoid the oil-roasted variety as they may have added fats. 
• You can snack on whole nuts or use them as a replacement for other less healthy ingredients. Case in point, you can sprinkle chopped nuts on salad instead of bacon. You can also top soups with chopped nuts instead of croutons. 

Once again, choose macadamia nuts carefully. When they are oil-roasted or dipped into sweetened chocolates, you may be getting unnecessary fats, sugars, or salts from them. 

Finally, remember that there’s no one food that can improve your health. To make the most of your diet, you should get your nutrition from a variety of foods. PConsult your doctor about the best diet for you. 

Learn more about Healthy Eating here.