Different Types Of Nuts
Any of the different types of nuts would be nearly as long as the list of different types of trees. Nuts and seeds are somewhat different. A nut is a seed, but that of a tree, as opposed to the seeds of vegetables, fruits and smaller plants. We usually don't eat nuts, but the seeds within their shells. Put another way, when we eat a nut, we have to remove the shell first, although we tend to call the complete package a nut.
In spite of all the different varieties of trees there are in the world, the list of edible nuts, or at least those we most commonly eat, is relatively small. The types of nuts most favored by people depends to a large extent on where they live, and what trees grow in that area. There are many types of nuts consumed in Asia for example, that we in the United States are totally unfamiliar with. We tend to stick with the nuts grown near or within our borders. Fortunately, the selection we have is a good one.
The Outlaw Nuts - Any discussion of favorite tasting nuts, or healthy nuts, is very likely to include the peanut. The peanut is not a nut at all, but a legume, more closely related to the pea than to any nut one could name. Many will argue against banning the peanut from any list of types of nuts, unless one is a horticulturist or a botanist, on the grounds that, if it looks like a nut, and tastes like a nut, it must be a nut. If one really wants to get picky, walnuts and hickory nuts should also be banned from any list of different types of nuts, as they are not true nuts, in strictly botanical terms.
Rather than get all wrapped up in technicalities, this not being a court of law, we'll include peanuts, hickory nuts, and walnuts in the list of favorite eating nuts and healthiest nuts, which is where they really belong.
The Most Common Types Of Nuts - What are these types of nuts? Here's a baker's dozen of them: Almond, Beech, Brazil nut, Cashew, Chestnut, Filbert, Hazelnut, Hickory, Pecan, Peanut, Macadamia, Pistachio, and the Walnut. We should probably add the acorn, since they are so common.
Most of these nuts are quite healthy. Peanuts, Macadamia nuts and Pistachio nuts aren't always, since they are often salted, which isn't necessarily always good for us, but makes it difficult to stop eating them. Without the salt, they are all power-packed with nutrition, including in some cases, a little fat.
Top Guns - Of these different types of nuts, the almond is considered by many to be the most nutritious, and are recommended by those interested in our good health as being one of the better snack foods we could choose, certainly better that anything sugar coated. almonds come salted, but to get the most out of them in terms of health and nutrition, try to cultivate a taste for raw, unsalted almonds. They can quickly become habit forming. Although you'll get a few grams of fat in a handful of almonds, it's unsaturated fat, and won't do you harm. You'll also get plenty of protein and fiber, a good helping of calcium and vitamin E, plus a little iron, zinc, and a few other minerals.
Filberts, like almonds, are a good source of vitamin E, and walnuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. If the thought of nuts being too fatty, though they really aren't, try chestnuts, which are lower in fat than most others.
We allowed the peanut to be a member of our nut club because of its flavor and nutritional value. Another "nut" that really isn't one is the soybean, though it's often called and treated like a nut. If you want to call it that, then it would be the most nutritious of all nuts, even surpassing the almond.
Sometimes it isn't what something is, but what you choose to call it, is the thing that counts.