This Month's Sale Price

Sale - Organic Amonds-Our fabulous dry roasted org. almonds came in ready to put right in your mouth or your favorite snacks/recipes. As always, very healthy, versatile. One of the best "Functional Foods" -Great New Crop

NOW
$7.99-
$13.99

ordering page-9 oz.

ordering page-16 oz.

Nelson Family Farm Store
.875 West Midway
Fort Pierce, FL 34982

Sunset Foods
Aptakisic & Rt. 83
Long Grove, IL. 60047
& Highland Park, IL

Yet More Studies About the Health Virtues of Nuts

A Harvard report just out 2011 cited certain foods that make us gain weight.Included in the study was the predictable french fries #1, potatoes (all), processed meats, refined grains, whole & low fat dairy foods (except yogurt)... BUT nuts which tend to be high fat, actually helped people avoid weight gain.

Pistachios are rich in the antioxidant CoQ10, shown to fight gum inflammation according to Parade.com Stay Healthy. It doesn't surprise us because we've heard from our pistachio farmers dentists say that their teeth seem better as they eat more of their crop. Who would have thought?

More Studies with Pistachios. ...may help with weight management
In a first-of-its-kind study with nuts, randomized controlled-feeding research conducted by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) found that fat in pistachios may not be completely absorbed by the body. The findings indicate that pistachios may actually contain fewer calories per serving than originally thought, reinforcing that pistachios are one of the lowest calorie nuts with 160 calories per 30 g serving (approximately 1 oz). The study was presented on April 11 at the Experimental Biology conference in Washington, D.C.
The research measured the energy value of pistachios by feeding 16 healthy adults the nuts as part of a controlled diet and calculating the energy value from differences in energy excretion during the dietary treatment timeframe. The resulting energy value of one 30 g serving of pistachios was 5.9% less than previous calculations.
“Existing scientific research indicates that fat from nuts is poorly absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract,” said lead ARS researcher David J. Baer, Ph.D., Supervisory Research Physiologist with the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center. “This study confirms that the fat from pistachio nuts, specifically, is not completely digested or absorbed, resulting in a lower energy value.” Additional data from this study presented at Experimental Biology reinforced the heart-health benefits of pistachios. The ARS researchers found that when healthy individuals included 1.5 and 3 oz of pistachios into their typical American diet, cardio-supportive results were shown.

Pistachios may help regulate blood sugar
A study published in Diabetes Care shows that nuts, such as pistachios, may improve long-term blood sugar control and lower cholesterol levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

Walnuts & Pecans are tops for antioxidants
A study presented at the 241st National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society shows that walnuts may have a combination of more healthful antioxidants and higher quality antioxidants than any other nut.
Joe Vinson, University of Scranton, analyzed antioxidants in nine different types of nuts: walnuts, almonds, peanuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, macadamias, and pecans. Walnuts had the highest levels of antioxidants. He also found that the quality, or potency, of antioxidants present in walnuts was highest among the nuts. Antioxidants in walnuts were 2–15 times as potent as vitamin E, renowned for its powerful antioxidant effects that protect the body against damaging natural chemicals involved in causing disease.
The Pecan Board also says pecans are at the top as well. Futters Nut Butters carries both. They are tasty, healthy, and our nuts/nut butters are the best out there.

Our Very Own Pecans

The Pecan, according to the respected food writer Waverly Root, is a nut originally 100 percent American. According to the National Pecan Shellers Association, American Indians began cultivating wild pecans in the 1500's. Today Americans grow about 80% of the world's pecans. Many in the south are still cultivating wild (& organic) pecans the same way. Root says pecans originated in Texas and were loved by Pre-Columbian Indians, who pressed them for oil, ground them to thicken stews, roasted them for hunting expedition rations, and mixed them with vegetables.We like putting pecans in our salads, with raspberries or with mixed bitter greens (arugula, radicchio, endive) and a drizzle of balsamic dressing on them.

For more info, go to our pecan page to see facts like pecans are never genetically modified here, and that they are a very high antioxidant food. Good stuff!

Another justified plug for the favored Almond

Researchers have been saying for years that people who eat almonds regularly tend to weigh less than those who don't, even if they ingest more calories in a day. Now there's a study helping to explain how this nut has the power to provide valuable nutrients and help decrease LDL cholesterol without adding pounds. Researchers instructed women (most overweight) to eat a bit more than two ounces of almonds daily for 10 weeks. For the following 10-week period, they ate their usual diets. Researchers measured body weight, metabolic rates, and physical activity at various points during the study.

The researchers found that when people were eating the 344 calories worth of almonds every day, they were in total, only taking in an extra 77 calories each day. During the time they ate almonds, the women gained no additional weight, and they met daily recommendations for vitamin E and magnesium (two nutrients most of us don't consume in adequate amounts). Eating almonds also led to increases in consumption of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, protein, and fiber. The extra daily 77 calories were offset because the fiber structure of almonds blocked the fat in almonds from being fully absorbed. Rick Mattes, PhD, RD, coauthor of the study, notes, "Solid data has shown that eating one to three daily ounces of almonds can help lower LDL cholesterol levels. But many healthcare providers have been hesitant to recommend almonds ... because they're a relatively high-calorie food. This study challenges that assumption," In fact, a serving of almonds may not have as many calories as indicated on the nutrition facts label, since the satiating effect of these nuts may replace other foods in the diet, including carbohyd rate- rich ones. Also, the fiber in almonds may block some of the fat from being digested and may cause an increase in resting energy expenditure.

This study adds to the evidence that almonds are satiating and may play a valuable role in weight management.  Previous studies have shown that the addition of nuts to a daily diet does not cause weight gain and increases satiety.

SOURCES "Does the Nutrition Facts Label Tell the Whole Story?" Almond Board of California, wwwAlmondBoard.corn, 8/30/07 0 "Effect ofChronic Almond Consumption on Body Weight of Healthy Humans" by Jarnes Hollis, PhD, and Rick Mattes, PhD, RD, British Joumal ofNutrition, 9/1/07

Antioxidants deactivate free radicals – cell-destroying compounds in the body that can cause heart disease, cancer and strokes.While almonds have long been recognized as an excellent source of magnesium and vitamin E, comprehensive work had yet to be done on the quantity and quality of their antioxidant content.
"The principal flavonoids in almonds - catechin, epicatechin and Kaempferol - provide the highest degree of protection against oxidant-induced cell dealth than any other flavonoids," wrote the Tuft University researchers. On a weight basis, the total flavonol content of almonds was found to be similar to red onions. The kaempferol and quercetin content was on a par with broccoli, and the catechin content between that of brewed black tea and brewed green tea.
Pecans according to the Pecan Board are also extremely high in antioxidants.
Studies show that these beneficial compounds work with each other (synergistically) making each more effective. Nothing like whole foods!

Why is the pistachio nut unique as compared to other nuts?
• It provides a significant amount of the bioactive carotenoid, lutein that is also found in dark green leafy vegetables such as broccoli (good for your eyes)
• Unique among tree nuts in having lutein and anthocyanins in their peels, giving them their characteristic green and purple 2-tone appearance
• Among tree nuts, pistachios are the richest source of phytosterols, particularly beta-sitosterol and campesterol (good for lowering cholesterol levels and reducing risk of heart disease)
There is 0.36 mg of lutein in a 1 oz. serving of pistachios, which is equivalent to the amount of lutein found in a half-cup serving of broccoli.
Phytosterols are plant sterols that compete with cholesterol in the intestinal lumen for uptake into the bloodstream. Phytoserols may help reduce cholesterol levels as well as help to promote a healthy heart. There is evidence which states a diet that incorporates tree nuts, such as pistachios, is associated with reduced risk of heart disease.

A four-week pistachio diet can help reduce cholesterol levels in people with moderate hypercholesterolemia, without weight gain, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition in April ."A diet with a moderate amount of healthful monounsaturated fat, like the kind found in pistachios, is a more effective way to prevent heart disease than reducing overall fat intake," said Dr James Cooper of George Mason University who conducted the new study.
This follows a 2005 study, published by the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry (Vol 53, pp. 9436-9445), which proved pistachios held the richest source of phytosterols in snack foods, believed to reduce blood cholesterol.
The new study claims that a daily four-week diet consisting of 15 percent of calories from pistachios improved blood serum lipid levels,...The results also showed that there was no change in blood pressure, BMI or weight levels in those on the pistachio diet, supporting recent research that pistachios are a healthy snack option.
Source: Journal of the American College of Nutrition
Volume 26, Number 2, 141-148 (2007)
"Pistachio Nut Consumption and Serum Lipid Levels"
Authors: M J Sheridan, J N Cooper, M Erario, and C E Cheifetz
See our pistachio butter options.

Walnuts-Even healthier than we thought!

Many of our customers were up on the latest findings of a study about the heart benefits of walnuts and walnut butter. A handful of walnuts protects your arteries from the shock of a high-fat meal, Spanish researchers find. The finding suggests that nuts are a more important part of the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet than olive oil. Heart health depends on healthy, flexible arteries. When you eat a high-fat meal, it temporarily stuns your arteries. They stiffen and become less able to expand in response to exercise. Over time, this repeated damage contributes to hardening of the arteries.
But if you eat walnuts along with a fatty meal, the fat has much less of a short-term effect, find Emilio Ros, MD, PhD, and colleagues. Ros is director of the Lipid Clinic at Hospital Clínico, Barcelona, Spain, the central location for the study. More info on our walnut page.

The "sunnies" are great in the following recipe. You can use the other nuts above, instead, but need to chop them first or use our cashews.
Broccoli Salad
Mix together 2 fresh bunches of broccoli, 1/2 cup white or black raisins and put in fridge overnight with a damp cloth/towel covering to keep crisp.
Mix together 1 cup mayonnaise of choice, 1/2 cup sugar (of choice) and 2 TBS apple cider vinegar. Refrigerate overnight & set out 1 hour before mixing into below salad so it's room temp.
Toss the dressing over the broccoli mixture, add 1 cup sunflower seeds and 1 red onion sliced thinly. Serve
All the items seem to compliment each other and taste so right.

Try our Natural & Organic Pecan

Two of us are pictured here from our visit to hazelnut orchards in Oregon. In case you haven't seen them in their natural habitat, here's how they grow.