Hazelnuts, source of vegetable protein

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Quality protein-rich hazelnuts

Hazelnuts, source of vegetable protein
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Hazelnuts are an excellent source of vegetable protein, fiber and magnesium. The hazelnuts have a strong aroma and are used for cakes, but also to make hazelnut butter, flour and pasta. Hazelnuts are not only a source of high quality protein, in addition to vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant, they also contain other nutrients beneficial to the immune system.

Peanut is the seed fruit of the common hazelnut (Corylus avellana), a shrub that grows spontaneously but is also cultivated. The fruits are small and spherical or ovoid, 2-4 in a group, consisting of a woody shell that closes a single edible seed.

The hazelnuts are one of the oldest crops and are native to Asia. Chinese manuscripts from 5,000 years ago mention hazelnuts as sacred food from the heavens. The Romans and Greeks used hazelnuts for medical purposes. Doctor Dioscorides of Ancient Greece praises the property of hazelnuts to cure chronic cough and colds and help hair growth in areas with early baldness.

The main producers of hazelnuts are Turkey, Italy, Spain and France. The Romanian hazelnut is a shrub that grows mostly at the edges of the forest, where there is plenty of light and deep earth. Romanian hazelnuts ripen in early September. Turkish hazelnut is more productive, but its fruits do not have the healing virtues and vitality of the native hazelnut.

The hazelnuts are a real energy mine

Hazelnuts, source of vegetable protein
Image from Pixabay

Peanuts are a food with a high caloric content and rich in mineral salts. They contain: oily fats in large quantities, proteins, sugars, dietary fiber, mineral salts (phosphorus, magnesium, iron, manganese, copper, selenium, etc.), vitamins,especially vitamin E and in smaller quantities, vitamins of group B and vitamin A, resins, pigments and tannins.

Peanuts are commercially traded with or without shell, cut, ground or roasted and are mostly eaten dry. They are used as such in confectionery and in the sweets industry as a substitute for cocoa powder. From pressed hazelnuts, an oil appreciated in both food and cosmetics is obtained.

The hazelnuts are rich in adinin an amino acid that relaxes the blood vessels. These forest nuts have the highest concentration of folic acid of all types of hazelnuts. Folic acid reduces the risk of defects in the neural tube before birth and may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, Alzheimer’s disease and depression.

Peanuts contain minerals that lower blood pressure: calcium, magnesium and potassium. They are a rich source of sqalenta, a natural substance that is also found in olive oil, wheat germ oil, rice oil, shark oil and yeast, with anti-cancer effects and cholesterol reductions. Studies show that people with high cholesterol who consumed hazelnuts for 8 weeks had lower levels of lipids that form the artery plaque (LDL) and high positive cholesterol (HDL) compared to the control group.

The fruits of the nuts are a real energy mine, having a caloric and nutritional value close to that of the meat, being instead more digestible and totally free of toxicity. As a medicine, peanuts have therapeutic value when consumed raw, unroasted, being indicated for: anemia, growth, high cholesterol, diabetes, capillary fragility, kidney stones, pregnancy, lung disease.

Hazelnuts, source of vegetable protein
Image from Pixabay

The leaves of the cast are used as infusion, decoction and baths, with hemostatic effect, vasoconstrictor and venous toning. They are harvested in June-July.

Virgin hazelnut oil is an excellent treatment in the elimination of tapeworm and against respiratory tract infections, and is used with great success in the treatment of hypertension. Peanut oil is obtained by cold pressing and cannot be preserved for long. Peanut oil has very strong healing effects. One teaspoon of oil taken in the evening and one in the morning, for 15 days, leads to the elimination of tapeworm.

Hazelnut oil contains lecithin and many unsaturated fatty acids: up to 83%, oleic acid and up to 25% linoleic acid. It positively influences the microcirculation and penetrability of the skin, atenuates oily gloss, has an astringent effect and regulates sebum secretion. Hazelnut oil is used externally to remove cellulite.

Peanut oil has a nutritional and moisturizing effect, does not dry the skin and does not leave a fatty sensation. It is a particularly delicate oil and does not favor the appearance of comedones, diminishes stretch marks, repairs scars, ensuring skin elasticity. It is also known for its softening and softening effects of the signs of aging. It can be used for all skin types. Apply 3-5 drops on clean skin, gently massaging. Avoid the eye area, however. For optimal results, it is preferable to apply in the evening, before bedtime and again in the morning.

Hazelnut flour is an exceptional energizer and vitalizer. By crushing the raw hazelnuts into the nut or grinding them with the grinder, you get a very tasty flour, which can be mixed with honey and basil and eaten on bread, or from which you can prepare the hazelnut butter, mixing the hazelnuts in a blender, until they become a thick paste.

Some recommendations in the use of hazelnuts

Hazelnuts, source of vegetable protein
Image from Pixabay

If you are in the shell, choose heavy and full peanuts. Peeled ones can be kept in cool, dry places for almost a month, and the fridge or freezer will keep fresh for four months.

The skin can be removed by gently roasting and then rubbing. Peanuts can be roasted in the oven using a sheet of baking paper. In small quantities, they can be ground with the coffee grinder.

You can try hazelnut butter as an alternative to peanut butter. It’s very tasty. Forest nuts can be added to your favorite salads and mixed in breakfast cereals. You can also add hazelnuts, cut or mixed, in yogurt. Be careful, however! Don’t overdo it with their consumption, 100 g of hazelnuts have 650 kcal.

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