Hazelnuts, apart from being delicious snacks, are also surprisingly nutritious. As with other foods in the nut family, they contain unsaturated fat and are high in vitamins and protein. You can eat them raw, roasted, or as a cooking oil. But aside from those, did you know that you can also turn it into hazelnut butter? In fact, we have included it in our list of the best alternatives to peanut butter.
It is a little nut but also a powerhouse of nutritional goodness. Many Native Americans added them to tea to cure hives and as well as to reduce fever. Its oil is great to be used on the skin as a sunscreen and moisturizer. But what do you think you can get from hazelnut butter? If you are also wondering about this, you’re in the right place. Read on as we’re giving you the benefits of hazelnut butter.
1. Hazelnut Butter Can Help Support Healthy Bowel Movements
Hazelnuts are one of the best sources of dietary fiber. Eating plenty of it can help encourage regular bowel movements, and it may also help prevent constipation. According to the dietary guidelines in the United States, women ages 31 to 50 need to eat 25.2 grams of dietary fiber per day, while men in the same age range should eat 30.8 grams of fiber each day. With small amounts of hazelnut butter daily, you can easily incorporate it into your diet.
2. Hazelnut Butter Can Help Reduce Weight Gain
Based on research, eating nuts may help people gain less weight. A study done in 2018 found a connection between eating hazelnuts, reduced weight gain, and a lower risk of obesity. In that study, those who ate more nuts were less likely to become overweight than those who did not. However, further studies are needed to assess whether there is a causal connection between eating nuts and a reduced risk of weight gain.
3. Hazelnut Butter Can Help Protect Against Cell Damage
Hazelnuts are known to be rich in antioxidants, which are compounds that protect against cell oxidation. They decrease the extent of cell damage from free radicals. Hazelnuts also contain the antioxidant vitamin E. According to research, vitamin E can help protect the body from cell damage types that are linked to cancer.
4. Hazelnut Butter Can Help Lower Cholesterol
Eating hazelnuts may also help reduce cholesterol levels. Based on a 2013 study, a hazelnut-rich diet was able to decrease the participants’ levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. This type of cholesterol increases the risk of heart problems.
According to researchers, the best way to get the health benefits of hazelnuts is to eat them daily without increasing the overall calorie intake. There was also a 2016 review that indicated that hazelnuts could reduce levels of harmful cholesterol. One of the ways to eat hazelnuts daily is by turning them into hazelnut butter and eating it together with other healthy foods.
5. Hazelnut Butter Can Improve Insulin Sensitivity
Based on a trial in 2011, eating 7.5 grams of hazelnut every day improved the participants’ insulin sensitivity over 12 weeks. Diminished insulin sensitivity plays an important role in developing type 2 diabetes. Therefore, improving this sensitivity can help reduce the risk of the condition. With this, try to add some hazelnut butter to your diet along with other healthy meals and snacks. If hazelnut butter is not available, healthy pecan butter is also a good option.
6. Hazelnut Butter Can Support Heart Health
Hazelnuts may also help promote a healthy heart. Based on research, eating a hazelnut-rich diet may help improve cardiovascular biomarkers, which can potentially lower the risk of heart problems.
These are some of the benefits that you can get from hazelnut butter. You can use it as a spread on toast, a dip for fruits and vegetables, and an ingredient when baking or preparing meals. However, keep in mind that there are also some people who are allergic to hazelnuts. Also, to enjoy its health benefits, you need to be mindful of the overall number of calories that you consume every day. It’s because when you add it to your diet, it can be easy to consume more calories than needed, which can lead to weight gain.
But overall, we can say that hazelnut butter is a versatile butter that you can use to make a healthy snack easily. We hope this helped you learn more about the benefits of hazelnut butter.
7. Hazelnut Butter Could Reduce Inflammation
Hazelnut has been known to have high concentrations of healthy fats, due to which it helps in reducing inflammation signs. Studies have known that eating as little as 60 grams of hazelnut butter every day for 3 months has helped reduce inflammatory signs in overweight people.
A 2013 study has shown that eating a hazelnut-rich diet reduced the signs of inflammation among the participants. However, one more study found the change in inflammatory signs post-eating the hazelnut butter to be insignificant; hence determining that effect on inflammations by hazelnuts need further research.
8. Hazelnut Butter Helps Improving Sperm Count
Recently, studies have indicated that consuming hazelnut butter may increase sperm count and its quality. Scientists found that men who had about two handfuls of nuts, including hazelnuts and walnuts for 14 days, had improved sperm count and had more viable sperm.
About one in every seven couples has difficulty getting pregnant, and 40 percent of infertility cases are attributable to men. Because of that, nut butter like hazelnut butter could be a lifesaver for some people as it may result in a decline in population growth rates if sperm count continues to fall at the current rates in men.
In North America, Europe, and Australia, sperm count has seemed to be cut in half in the last 40 years. Because of this speculation, it is important that people eat hazelnuts and take other measures to prevent such a disaster.
9. Hazelnut Butter Improves Mental Health and Nervous System
Hazelnut butter boosts the mood and helps people improve their sleep cycle as it contains various compounds like serotonin, melatonin, and epinephrine, which are directly connected to a better mood and a healthier sleep cycle. Hazelnut butter is also rich in vitamin B6, which is why it improves the chemical connections in the brain.
10. Hazelnut Butter Enhances Muscle
Hazelnut butter is practically full of protein, and it feeds your muscles and helps you build strength. This helps people who want to build their bodies or burn fat as more muscle mass means that fat is burnt faster. Most people who eat hazelnut butter have an easier time losing weight to a healthy level or maintaining a healthy weight for those who have a fast metabolism.
11. Hazelnuts Are Good For Bones
Magnesium is one of the pillars that keep bones healthy and up and running. As fate would have it, hazelnuts and their butter are full of magnesium. Magnesium is essential for new bones to grow properly and for old bones to be fortified. In addition, magnesium is really important for older women who are at risk of developing osteoporosis.
Conclusion
Usage of hazelnuts and their butter has a lot of pros, from helping to have healthy bowel movements because of the abundance in fiber to an increase in muscle mass because of the protein content in the hazelnut butter. There are just so many benefits of adding a few hazelnuts or a spoon of hazelnut butter to your diet, as it makes an easy and delicious snack unless a person is allergic to hazelnuts.
Hazelnut butter contains only 200 calories every 2 tablespoons and is a perfect way for someone with a low sugar level to pick themselves up. What do you think about this delicious nutty treat? Will you eat more hazelnut butter after this?