Question regarding brazil nuts.

Ben · Post by **Ben** » Thu 02 Mar 2006 02:14

At my local grocery store they don't have brazil nuts inside their shells, but the ones that they do have are called "Brazil Raw Profile Foods," are they all right then, seeing as they're raw or are they still no good? Also are any raw nuts good like, cashews or almonds, or are only specific ones good?

Post by **Oscar** » Thu 02 Mar 2006 12:33

Be careful with the shelled nuts. It is possible that the brazil nuts are shelled by hand, but I'm sure they would be very expensive, and that it'll say "hand shelled" on the label. If not, I'd have my doubts. Some claim they use a specific machine to shell, without heating it above 40°C, which could be true.

Cashews aren't fruits, but legumes. I would be very surprised if the raw cashews are truly raw, because apparently the shell is poisonous. That's why they have to shell it mechanically. As far as I know, they use heat for that, resulting in roasted nuts. These 'raw' cashews don't taste that great, so they are often roasted again, resulting in double-roasted nuts.

Other nuts like macademia nuts, walnuts or almonds are fine, if raw and hand-shelled. Brazil nuts have the highest protein quality and are very nutricious.

CurlyGirl · Post by **CurlyGirl** » Thu 02 Mar 2006 15:43

Also, pre-shelled nuts (especially those with the highest proportion of fat, i.e. brazils) come into contact with the plastic packet in which they are stored, and the nuts absorb minute (but significant) amounts of oestrogen-mimicking chemicals from the plastic. This can disrupt the body's hormone system (remember, the human endocrine system functions on parts per billion of various hormones - tiny amounts have a huge impact). Humans are exposed to significant and cumulative doses of oestrogen-mimicking compounds daily via the plastics used to package our food.