Pine nuts nutrition

Information on Pine Nuts

Pine nuts are seeds from the pine tree cones, characterizedby an ivory color and they are among the favorite snacks of humans, songbirdsand herbivores. They are essential ingredients in numerous different types ofdishes everywhere around the world. Pine nuts are often covered by a hull whichtends to be very rigid. When one removes the hull, the nuts can be consumed intheir raw form or they can be cooked in various ways. Pine nuts are verypopular because of their taste and the fact that they provide large amounts ofessential nutrients. They are sometimes referred to as Indian nuts, pinon nutsor pignoli. They have sort of a buttery flavor and they are often incorporatedinto salads. Pine nuts are among the most important ingredients of the Italianpesto sauce and pignolia cookies, among others. They can also be used for theproduction of pine nut oil. Pine nut oil is characterized by a very potenttaste and it is also often used to enhance the flavor or various types ofsalads and vegetables.

Pine Nut Nutritional Benefits

Pine nut is very rich in magnesium, essential amino acids,iron, zinc, copper, vitamins, phosphorus, thiamin, niacin and riboflavin. Itcan be used for the maintenance of the cardiovascular health, it suppresses theappetite and it provides the human body with antioxidant protection. Freeradicals cause the aging of the skin and they also trigger other damage insidethe human body. Pine nuts contain plenty of lutein, vitamin E, vitamin D,vitamin C, vitamin B and vitamin A which are all very powerful antioxidants andthey fight off the free radicals. Pine nuts are an excellent source of certainhormones such as pinolenic acid and cholecystokinin which are very efficient insuppressing the hunger. The fiber from the pine nuts may come in very handywhen it comes to treating constipation and similar problems commonly affiliatedwith the digestive tract. Pine nuts are very efficient in reducing the levelsof bad cholesterol in the blood and increasing the levels of bad cholesterol inthe blood, due to the high amounts of oleic acid contained. Pine nuts are alsorich in vitamin K.

Calories in Pine Nuts

Each serving of pine nuts may contain up to 200 calories and18 grams of fat, out of which there are 9.5 grams of polyunsaturated fats and5.2 grams of monounsaturated fats. A serving of dried pine nuts contains up to10 calories, 0.89 grams of fat, 0.08 grams of dietary fiber, 0.42 grams ofprotein and 0.24 grams of carbohydrates.