You probably already know that nuts carry a number of different health benefits. They’re full of healthy fats and help with appetite management. But if you haven't tried macadamia nuts, you're missing out. These round, creamy nuts are tasty, go well in many recipes, and have some important health benefits as well. If you’re thinking of adding them to your diet, then here are the most useful macadamia nuts benefits to know about.
Macadamia nuts are native to Australia, but they are grown all around the world, including in Costa Rica and Hawaii. They’re a type of tree nut and have a creamy, buttery flavor, perfect for snacking, salads, or baking.
Macadamia nuts are nutritionally dense and contain lots of essential vitamins and minerals including:
These nuts also contain moderate amounts of other nutrients like copper, calcium, zinc, potassium, and magnesium. With all these nutrients, it’s really no surprise that there are so many macadamia nuts benefits to enjoy.
Just remember that they are quite high in fat, so try not to eat more than a couple of ounces a day.
You may not be as familiar with macadamia nuts as with others but adding them to your diet doesn’t have to be complex. You can eat these nuts raw for the best effects, eating them whole as snacks or grinding and sprinkling them on soups. They're also really good in salads instead of croutons.
Here are some other ways to enjoy these nuts:
Generally speaking, macadamia nuts are safe and delicious. They can be eaten by almost anyone, including pregnant or breastfeeding women and children. However, like any food, they can cause issues in rare cases.
Macadamia nut allergies are rare, but they do occur, sometimes resulting in rash or coughing. If you notice any ill effects from eating these nuts, then stop immediately and see a doctor.
If you eat too many of these nuts, then the extra fiber can cause gas, bloating, diarrhea, or constipation, so start small and monitor your gut health.
Also, eating too many heavily salted nuts can be associated with high blood pressure.
There are many macadamia nuts benefits that can help support the health of almost every part of your body. These include:
One of the most important macadamia nuts benefits is the fact that they’re loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants help to neutralize free radicals, molecules that can damage healthy cells and are thought to be responsible for everything from aging to heart conditions.
Nuts are naturally calorie-dense, so they may not seem like a good choice if you’re trying to lose or maintain your weight. However, they also contain lots of protein and fiber, which can help you feel fuller for longer and avoid snacking. They also contain monounsaturated fats, particularly omega-7 palmitoleic acid, which in animal studies has been shown to protect against unwanted weight gain. While more research is needed, macadamia nuts do appear to be a valuable tool in your weight loss journey.
Macadamia nuts contain several nutrients that may help improve your heart health, including:
Macadamia nuts are rich in vitamins, minerals, and essential nutrients your body needs. If you have deficiencies or need to increase your intake of certain nutrients, they’re a quick and easy way to make that happen.
Metabolic syndrome is one of the big health issues of the modern age. It actually refers to a cluster of health risks. Each of these health risks on its own isn’t usually a big problem, but people with metabolic syndrome usually experience a cluster of these conditions. This increases their risk of heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes, and other serious health threats.
Research has shown that macadamia nuts can cause reductions in blood sugar levels. They can also help lower your cholesterol. And they contain monounsaturated fats, which help reduce other metabolic syndrome risk factors. Eating a diet rich in these nuts is also linked to lower body weight, all of which will help fight the onset of metabolic syndrome.
Modern science is only just starting to understand the importance of your gut to overall health. But what’s clear is that you can’t be healthy if your gut is unhealthy.
That’s why one of the most important macadamia nuts benefits is the fact that they can help support a healthy gut. These nuts contain lots of fiber, which help feed your healthy gut bacteria and benefit your digestion and elimination. This can help protect you against gut conditions and reduce inflammation throughout your body.
These nuts also contain potassium, magnesium, and calcium, three minerals that are essential for good bone health. They also contain phosphorus, which promotes bone and teeth mineralization.
Macadamia nuts may also help lower inflammation throughout your body by:
They also contain nutrients that help fight inflammation directly such as alpha-linoleic acid and flavonoids.
This is one of the macadamia nuts benefits that needs more research, but it’s still significant. These nuts contain omega-9 fatty acids and high-quality protein that may help improve your mood.
If you struggle with skin health, then there are nutrients in macadamia nuts that may help such as:
Nuts in general are particularly good for your brain because they help decrease your risk of having a stroke. Macadamia nuts in particular contain oleic acid, which may help prevent strokes, as well as palmitoleic acid. Palmitoleic acid is a fatty acid that’s used to make myelin, the fatty layer that covers brain nerve cells, so it’s essential for brain health. This fatty acid may also help improve your memory and prevent neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.
These nuts are also rich in nutrients that are essential for neurotransmitter production such as:
Eating macadamia nuts could also be beneficial if you have been under chronic stress and have developed Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS). This disorder is caused by ongoing stress that depletes the resources of the NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) stress response. The NEM stress response is driven by the adrenal glands. When you’re stressed, your body releases cortisol from the adrenals. This makes you alert and prepares you to respond to the cause of the stress.
When stress becomes chronic, the NEM stress response can’t shut down. This is a problem because it takes energy from essential processes like digestion, reproduction, and repair in favor of increasing blood flow to muscles, for example. Over time, this causes dysfunction. The adrenals can start to fatigue from the ongoing heavy workload, resulting in body-wide malfunctions.
If you have AFS, then you can help correct some of the resulting issues by taking advantage of these macadamia nuts benefits. In particular, eating these nuts may help improve the health of the Inflammation Circuit, which will go a long way to rebalancing your body.
The Inflammation Circuit includes the gut, the immune system, and the microbiome, or the balance of bacteria in your body. This circuit is responsible for protecting you from pathogens and other invaders that might otherwise make you sick. During stressful situations, when cortisol is released from your adrenal glands, this circuit increases inflammation. This inflammation aims to help your body defend itself against invaders and heal any damage.
When the Inflammation Circuit becomes dysfunctional, the inflammation becomes chronic and is associated with widespread problems like cancer, heart disease, blood sugar instability, and ongoing infections.
Here’s how AFS impacts the separate components of the Inflammation Circuit and how macadamia nuts could help support a return to healthy functioning again:
The gut is involved in digestion, elimination, and immune cell production, so when it’s unhealthy the results can be very damaging. When you have AFS and your Inflammation Circuit is unbalanced, digestion and elimination start to slow down or can even become dysfunctional. This allows toxins to build up in your body and can put you at increased risk of nutritional deficiencies.
Eating macadamia nuts may help with some of these issues by:
The balance of bacteria throughout your body and particularly in your gut is essential for your health. Unfortunately, when your Inflammation Circuit becomes unbalanced, the balance between good and bad bacteria can be lost. This results in dysbiosis, in which the bad bacteria flourish and overwhelm the good. This causes more inflammation and, in the gut, can lead to the breakdown of the gut lining, allowing toxins to move from the gut and into the bloodstream.
The health of the microbiome is also strongly linked to the health and functioning of your brain and your mood. That's why, as AFS progresses, mood instabilities, fatigue, and other brain-related issues become more common.
One of the most important macadamia nuts benefits is the fact that they can support a healthy microbiome. They contain fiber and reduce inflammation, both of which promote the growth of good bacteria. Improving the health of your microbiome may also help improve the health and functioning of your brain.
When you have AFS, the immune system is often overactive and malfunctioning at the same time. This can result in autoimmune conditions as well as ongoing infections that never really heal. This is can create even more stress for your body.
By helping to support good gut and microbiome health, macadamia nuts could help ease the overactivation of the immune system, reducing inflammation and encouraging a more natural state of functioning.
As with most foods, eating macadamia nuts in moderation can help give your body the nutrition it needs to function properly. By adding these nuts to your diet, you can enjoy the many macadamia nuts benefits as well as the delicious taste and texture. You can eat them raw for the best effects, or add them to salads, smoothies, or baked foods. You can also eat them dry roasted.
If you are planning to add these nuts to your diet in high quantities, it is also a good idea to talk to your doctor about whether these nuts are right for your body and dietary needs, especially if you have AFS. Those with AFS can be especially sensitive to dietary changes.
For more nutritional ideas to help you overcome AFS, you can talk to our team at +1 (626) 571-1234 for a free consultation, or click here.
Whether you have AFS or are just looking to improve your diet, there are several macadamia nuts benefits you should be aware of. These tasty nuts can help ensure that you get all the nutrients you need while benefiting your heart health and digestion. They can even help weight loss.
