Which Is More Useful - Roasted Or Raw Nuts?

Author: Leticia Celentano Time for reading: ~2 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022

In this article, learn more about Which Is More Useful - Roasted Or Raw Nuts?. Both raw and roasted nuts have their health benefits..

All types of nuts are useful and offer a much healthier alternative to fast food in cases where we want to quickly satisfy hunger.

Nuts are rich in vitamin E, protein, essential fatty acids and fiber and provide a rich variety of trace elements and antioxidants.

One of the biggest dilemmas regarding nuts is the need to choose whether to eat them raw or roasted . The main concern of many people is to what extent the heat treatment affects the useful composition of the nuts and whether their pleasant taste after roasting does not come at the expense of depriving some of their important health ingredients.

Roasting changes not only the taste but also the structure of the nuts. Along with the loss of water, however, there are negligible changes in their nutritional composition. It has been found that roasted and raw nuts have approximately the same content of nutrients that make them so useful - fatty acids, protein and fiber.

Analyzes show that an average handful (about 30 g) of raw almonds contains about 160 calories and 14 g of essential fatty acids. The same amount of roasted almonds contains about 170 calories and 15 g of fatty acids. It is believed that the differences come only from the fact that roasted nuts lose much of their water and the difference in weight has a slight effect on the chemical composition.

Vitamin E in their composition suffers the most from the heat treatment of nuts . It is thermolabile and during prolonged baking much of it can be deactivated. Another major disadvantage of roasting nuts is that it facilitates the contact of unsaturated fatty acids with oxygen and makes them more susceptible to oxidation . This increases the risk of free radical formation after consumption . Therefore, roasted nuts have a shorter shelf life than raw and it is recommended to consume as soon as possible after heat treatment.

To reduce the likelihood of vitamin E deactivation or fatty acid oxidation, it is recommended to roast the nuts at lower temperatures .

In most cases, the nuts are baked dry, but often fat is used. Contrary to expectations, nuts roasted in quality fat are slightly high in fat and calories.

The reason is that they are naturally rich in fat and during heat treatment the loss of water does not lead to serious absorption of extra fat.

The summary data show that no general conclusion can be made as to whether roasted or raw nuts are more useful . The only factor that determines our choice here could be the difference in taste. And the small detail that stored in an unclean place, raw nuts can provide a convenient environment for the development of various fungi and bacteria, including the genus Salmonella , Escherichia coli and others.

Which Is More Useful - Roasted Or Raw Nuts?

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