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Brazil Nut-rition
A Bite-Size Read for Your Health and Your Waistline
Ya know when you buy those containers of mixed nuts and there are those giant, oval-shaped things that look like the GMO apple version of a nut? Maybe you pick around them because…what is that?! Yeah, it’s a brazil nut! Not only do you want to eat them in your mixed nut, variety pack, you might want to snag a pack of them on their own to keep at home! They’re a tree nut grown in the Amazon with a mild flavor and creamy texture; what’s more, Native South American tribes have been eating them for medicinal purposes for years!
My dad eats two brazil nuts every day and has for a long time now…which doesn’t sound like a lot until you learn the recommended serving size is no more than 3 brazil nuts per day! Which means, buckle up for the nutrition facts. An ounce of brazil nuts (approx. 6 nuts) has 187 calories, 4.1g of protein, 19g of fat, 2.1g of fiber, a whopping 988% of the recommended dietary intake (RDI) of selenium, 55% of the RDI of copper, 33% of magnesium, 30% of phosphorus, 17% of manganese, 10.5% of zinc, 16% of thiamine, and 11% of vitamin E. That 988% of selenium wasn’t a typo! The exact amounts of these nutrients varies depending on climate and soil, but it’s safe to say that brazil nuts pack a punch when it comes to helping you reach your RDI (not that the RDI is my favorite benchmark but that’s another article).
