Pecans are a type of nut that comes from a fruit with an oval shape that is brownish red. Stakes and slightly wrinkled. Pecans have a savory taste and are a bit like butter. This is a nut that is very much loved and sought after especially during the holiday season. Pecans, some call it pee-can or peh-khans, according to the place. This is a large grain that comes from America. You can sprinkle pecans in salads or as a mixture in your cakes such as coffee cake and chocolate chip.
Nutrition in a Nutshell
Talking about pecan nutrition, as in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, pecans are considered the healthiest nuts among other tree nuts. Based on information from the USDA, pecans nuts are among the top 15 foods with the most antioxidant content.
Apart from being rich in antioxidants, pecans are also rich in various other nutrients such as containing potassium, manganese, zinc, iron, calcium, magnesium, and selenium. These various nutrients offer many health benefits for our bodies. Here we will mention some of the health benefits of pecans for health, including:
Best Health Benefits of Pecans
1. Heart healthy
One of the benefits is to help maintain heart health. The content of oleic acid or monounsaturated fat, and contains phenolic antioxidants whose role in health is good for heart health. The National Pecan Shellers Association states that if we add a handful of pecans to our daily diet, it helps lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and can increase bad cholesterol (HDL). This means that consuming a certain number of pecans every day is good for preventing heart disease and stroke.
2. Benefits of pecans to lose weight
Pecans are useful for increasing metabolism and speeding up satiety so that it has an effect on eating portion restrictions. That is why consuming pecans can lose weight. Research reveals that pecans nuts are useful for weight loss. It is a source of vitamin B complex such as vitamin B-6, riboflavin, thiamin, niacin, and pantothenic acid, and folates, they are nutrients that are good for increasing metabolism so that the body quickly burns a lot of body fat.
3. Reducing the risk of cancer
Pecans contain anti-proliferative ellagic acid which suppresses and prevents DNA from binding to certain cancer-causing carcinogens such as nitrosamines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Pecans contain oleic fatty acids, which are said to be proven to prevent breast cancer. This is because it can cleanse the digestive system.
Read more: Top 5 Alternative Cancer Therapies
If this is a benefit then it is certainly a big advantage, it is not wrong if we include pecans in our daily diet with medium levels.
4. Increase body immunity
Dr. Manoj K. Ahuja, Healing Touch Hospital, says “consuming manganese is very important for brain and nerve function, and chickpeas are a great source of manganese. Apart from manganese, it also contains many antioxidants which are useful for protecting nerve cells from damage caused by free radicals. This can increase immunity and protect the body from various diseases.
Also see: 11 Powerful Fruits to Boost Your Immunity
Besides being useful for protecting the body from illness, pacans can also protect the body from infection.
Skin and Hair Benefits of Pecans
Pecans are also a source of many vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin E, phosphorus, zinc and folate. All of them play an important role in maintaining healthy skin and beautifying your skin. This is the dating benefits that you get for the skin and hair.
5. Prevent damaged skin
Damage to the skin is due to toxins in the body, then problems such as wrinkles, dullness and acne and excess oil on the face and other areas of the body arise. Eating pecans regularly can prevent skin problems like this. This will enhance your appearance with healthy and beautiful skin. All of this is due to the presence of vitamin A and zinc in pecans.
The nutrients in pecans can be useful for the skin. If you regularly consume pecans, you don’t need to use weird cosmetics to protect skin damage.
6. Health benefits of pecans to prevent premature aging
There are many anti-oxidants in pecans. Among them are ellagic acid, vitamin E and vitamin A. Its use is to prevent and fight free radicals that cause premature skin damage. This benefit gives us an advantage, where eating pecans regularly can prevent the formation of fine lines (signs of aging), wrinkles and skin pigmentation.
7. Good for increasing hair growth
For those who want their hair to grow fast and thick, pecans is one of the foods that you should eat regularly. Pecans contain L-arginine, this is an amino acid that is useful for preventing baldness. How to use it is by rubbing it on the scalp, it will stimulate the body’s hair loss.
In this jam, L-argirnine is useful for loosening artery walls so that blood flow to all parts of the body including to the hair roots is smooth. This will have a good effect on scalp health and hair growth.
8. Prevent hair loss
Do you know what causes hair loss? Iron is useful for increasing red blood cells. Lack of iron implies anemia which in turn leads to hair loss.
If red blood cells are lacking, oxygen and food juices will also be inhibited and not supplied properly to the hair roots. This is a common cause of someone’s hair loss. Consuming pecans regularly can provide a good supply of iron for the formation of blood cells. Including this will provide benefits for your hair.
Also see: How to Use Onions for Hair Growth
9. Anti-Inflammatory Benefits
Pecans are also useful for preventing inflammation. The good magnesium content in pecans is useful for anti-inflammatory properties. If a person increases magnesium consumption, it indicates that his body inflammation will decrease. Likewise, it can remove inflammation of the artery walls. This is good for preventing Alzheimers disease, cardiovascular disease, and various health problems due to inflammation.
10. Improves Digestion
The health benefits of pencans further improve digestion. A nutritionist, Jaibharat says, “Pecans are rich in fiber so they are useful for colon health, and are good for smooth bowel movements.” Pecans prevent constipation due to lack of fluids and lack of fiber in the intestine. Fiber-rich foods including pecans are good for digestive health such as prevent constipation, hemorrhoids, and cleanse the digestive system.
Those are some of the benefits of consuming pecans regularly. Knowing a little knowledge about pecans, is expected to encourage us to consume fiber-rich foods.
