Chestnuts benefits includes promoting stronger bones, maintaining blood flow rate, providing cognitive therapy, easing intestinal discomforts, helping cleans the body of free radicals and toxins, preventing illness, aiding diabetes, and fostering pregnancy. Other benefits are easing respiratory diseases, promoting healthy thyroid function and providing stable energy.
What is Chestnuts?
The chestnut belongs to the group of Castanea genus and commonly found in the northern hemisphere. Chestnuts are small nuts and grow on trees and shrubs. There are four different types of species found on earth such as Chinese, Japanese American and European chestnuts all of these have a disparate impact on the body. Its growth is rapid in America and European countries while Chinese chestnut grows gradually. You found in the edible nut in a hard and thick shell-like covering.
Culinary Uses
Chestnut is used to preparing pancakes, pasta, polenta, and cakes. However, it is mostly used in culinary as agar to provide thickness to sauces, soups, and stews. The chestnut power is used in the preparation of chestnut flour. It is often added to bakery item to keep it fresh for longer. You can consume it as a raw nut or any other form you like. It is commonly available in the market as roasted, boiled, pureed and candied form. But you can also enjoy this lovely nut by garnishing on a grilled item. When you first consume this nut, you will notice its flavor is quite same as a baked potato. Some countries cooked this nut with a little amount of sugar to use it as dessert.
Here is unique nutrition profile of chestnuts
| Nutrition | mg/g | Percentage |
| Calories (131) | 131 | 0% |
| Total fat | 1.4g | 2% |
| Monounsaturated fat | 0.5g | |
| Polyunsaturated fat | 0.5g | |
| Saturated fat | 0.3g | 1% |
| Total carbohydrates | 28g | 9% |
| Sodium | 27mg | 1% |
| Calcium | 4% | |
| Iron | 9% | |
| Potassium | 715mg | 20% |
| Protein | 2g | 4% |
| Vitamin C | 44% | |
| Magnesium | 13% | |
| Vitamin B-6 | 10% |
11 impressive Health Benefits of Chestnuts
1. Stronger Bones
When it comes to bone health, we think that good bone health is only be achieved by calcium content. The calcium itself not only works in providing the healthy bones but the copper helps in the absorption of iron which is essential for the development of bones. Also, the magnesium content in chestnut increased mineral bones density. By eating these flavor-full nuts, you can ease various bones related diseases such as osteoporosis.
2. Maintain Blood Flow Rate
Being rich in potassium it can be beneficial for regulating the blood pressure as it controls the movement of water in your body. It acts as a vasodilator and maintaining the blood flow rate and relieve tension from you contracted blood vessels. That means it improves your overall heart health and in results reduces the prevalence of heart stroke and heart attack.
3. Provide Cognitive Therapy
It contains sufficient amount of potassium which is good for your brain functioning. You can add this to your diet if you are in academic phase as it helps you to retain a lot of things in mind. It impacts on your overall neurological development and improves your cognitive skills & ability. It improves your concentration by conducting proper blood flow rate.
4. Ease Intestinal Discomforts
Its dietary fiber content works on your gastrointestinal function. It creates soft-consistency in your intestine and helps you to get rid of constipation. This dietary fiber also increases the ratio of bowel movement and lessens the inflammation and discomfort in the gut. It also reduces the level of cholesterol in your blood and helps the body to dissolve the accumulated fat in arteries.
5. Antioxidant Agent
It has substantial proportions of vitamin C, ellagic acid and gallic acid which made it anti-oxidant in nature agent. It is essential to understand that you are aware of the fact that anti-oxidants are an integral component in cleaning up the body from free radicals and toxins. It put out all the substance that can pose adverse effect your body. It discourages the development of mutation in your cell by providing you excellent response against any foreign invaders.
6. Prevent illness
The anti-oxidant property of chestnut can keep you away from the chronic disease. It restricts the mutation in a cell by removing free-radicals from the body. If you include in your diet plan, it effectively keeps many dangerous conditions at bay.
7. Aids Diabetes
The dietary content of chestnut help in the management of diabetes as it raises the level of blood-sugar level slowly as compared to other glycemic food. The diabetic patient can get benefit from these tiny nuts by involving in their diet after consulting with a doctor.
8. Foster Pregnancy
Consumption of chestnut during pregnancy is also essential as it provides the necessary nutrients to the body. Its sufficient amount of vitamin and calcium make the balance between electrolytes and prevent the occurrence of an undesirable condition in the mother’s body. It also helps in the promotion of healthy development of fetus by keep mother away from all chronic diseases. It also reduces the stress and contraction caused by nausea.
9. Ease Respiratory Diseases
Regular consumption of chestnut can prevent you from cold, cough and other respiratory ailments. It has the property of expectorant which can provide you relieve from sinusitis and help you to get rid of chronic throat discomfort. Chestnut is also able to increases the production of fluid and efficiently aids congestion.
10. Promote Healthy Thyroid Function
The content of ellagic acid in chestnut supports adequate thyroid function. It helps those who are suffering from overactive thyroid function and hyperthyroidism by suppressing the abnormal hormone secretion. Thus regulate the rate of protein and make the body capable of combatting the stress of hormonal sensitivity.
11. Provide Stable Energy
Chestnut has a high amount of carbohydrates that make it far apart from low carb-containing food. Its 3 ounce of serving contains 45 grams of carbohydrates. It helps in the proper functioning of the nervous system by providing enough energy. Its complex carbs structure offers slow digestion which in turn retains energy level for longer.
Side Effects of Chestnuts
Its overdose can lead to nerve and brain damage due to the excessive proportion of vitamin B6. The long-term consumption of chestnut can exacerbate other health issues such as Anaphylaxis. People who are allergic to certain nuts should avoid the use of chestnut in their diet.
Conclusion
Its listed benefits and side effects help you to understand the function of chestnut. The nutrition profile of chestnut also helps you to consider the severity of beneficial qualities. As described earlier, a person with allergies must consult an allergist before adding chestnuts in their diet. If are still having these nuts for lunch or breakfast, and there is no harmful effect that you can notice, continue eating them now and then and enjoy the various health benefits they offer.
