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Research has proven that nuts and legumes have a high contribution to the bioactive compounds that lead to protective effects in humans. Nuts and legumes are recommended as part of the diet due to them being rich sources of proteins fibre and unsaturated fat. This review focuses on the nutritional and bioactive composition of nuts and legumes and some of the protective effects it has on the body. It also looks at phytate and its ability to act as an anti- nutrient by binding minerals and reducing their absorbance.
Present literature has assessed the reduction of phytic acid by removal from processing methods including, soaking, germinating and cooking. However, there has been no research performed on the effect phytic acid has on the bioactivity of nuts and legumes. The main aim of this review is to evaluate this effect, and find out if removing phytate from food can influence the bioactivity.
Nuts and legumes are foods consumed daily that give the human body many of its essential nutrients.
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They are frequently consumed in the Mediterranean diet and have been recommended as part of the diet for populations across the world (Ros et al., 2014). There can be confusion when differentiating between nuts and legumes, as they both contain a dry fruit inside a pod. Nuts and legumes can be identified by the amount of seeds they have present in their shell. A nut contains one seed whereas a legume contains multiple seeds. The seed of nuts is attached to the ovary wall.
The seeds of the legumes are attached to the shell (Ros, 2010). Popular tree nuts include; almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios, pine nuts, cashews, pecans, macadamias and brazil nuts. Some legumes include peas, chickpeas, lentils and soybeans (Messina, 1999).
Information from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Food Balance Sheets shows the changes in nut supply across the five continents. Interestingly, nut consumption in both South America and Africa did not vary over the years. It has stayed constant at 0.3kg/person/ year in South America and 1kg/person/year in Africa. Nut intake increased in North and Central America and Asia. From 1961 to 2001, nut supply in Asia increased by 60%. Consumption in Europe collectively was kept stable at an average of ~3.0kg/person/year over the 40 years. Across Belgium and Luxembourg, the nut supply increased from 1.0kg/person/year in 1960 to 3.3kg/person/year in 1990 to 5.0kg/person/year in 2001. Similar results can be seen in Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. This data shows Cyprus as having the highest nut consumption in 2001 at 11.9kg/person/year and Ireland having the lowest consumption at 0.9kg/person/year. A decrease in nut consumption was observed over the 40 years in Portugal where it reduced from 9.7kg/person/year in 1961 to 64.2kg/person/year in 2001.
Remarkably, the countries which do not grow nuts had a higher nut consumption than those that did (FAOSTAT, 2018). In Italy, Germany, France, Spain and Belgium in 2016, this solely looks at the consumption of hazelnut. Italy had the highest hazelnut consumption of 78,000 MT while Belgium had the lowest consumption of 4,652 MT (International Nut and Dried Fruit Council, 2018).
Although there has been a keen interest from consumers on the consumption of nuts, there is restricted data available on nut consumption across varying population groups and geographical location. Until now, nut and seed consumption levels have been estimated from food disappearance in supermarkets and from market data. Little data has been done from dietary intake. In dietary intake questionnaires used in nutrition surveys, questions asked on nuts and seeds were not asked in sufficient detail or else they were not asked at all. Due to nuts and seeds being consumed in smaller quantities, the different ways in which intake is measured may make it difficult to compare intakes from different population groups. Going forward, when examining dietary intake, it is important that dietary intake assessment instruments are validated and standardised.
Nuts are an example of nutrient dense foods. They have a high fat content which can range from 44.4g/100g in pistachios, 50.6g/100g in almonds, 60.8g/100g in hazelnuts and 72.0g/100g in pecans. Although the fat content is high in nuts, the amount of saturated fat is minimal. The saturated fat takes up between 4-16% of the total fat content and approximately half of the total fat content comes from good fats such as unsaturated fat, monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). An example of MUFAs and PUFAs are oleic, linoleic acid and α-linoleic acid (ALA). Hazelnuts and macadamia nuts have a much greater amount of MUFAs than PUFAs ranging from 45.7-58.9g/100g in MUFAs compared to 1.5-7.9g/100g in PUFAs. Brazil nuts have relatively the same amount of MUFAs (24.5g/100g) and PUFAs (20.6g/100g).
| Country | Hazelnut Consumption (MT) |
|---|---|
| Italy | 78,000 |
| Germany | 55,572 |
| France | 25,290 |
| Spain | 10,038 |
| Belgium | 4,652 |
Peanuts do not contain any ALA, while cashews and pine nuts contain a small quantity. Nuts are a good source of protein and contain a high level of L-arginine which is a precursor to nitric oxide. Peanuts, almonds and pistachios have the highest protein content containing 25.8g/100g, 21.3g/100g and 20.6g/100g compared to macadamia nuts and pecans that contain 7.9g/100g and 9.2g/100g respectively. Hazelnuts prove to be the nut highest in dietary fibre with 10.4g/100g (Ros, 2010).
Other micronutrients present in nuts include folate and phytochemicals e.g. carotenoids, tocopherols, saponins, phytic acid and phenolic compounds. Almonds have a high α- tocopherol content. Antioxidants can be found in the pellicle of the nut. Nuts are a great source of minerals such as calcium, magnesium and potassium. The sodium content is low in all nuts and is not detected in hazelnuts or pecans. This combination of high calcium, magnesium and potassium along with low amounts of sodium is said to defend against bone demineralisation, insulin resistance and cardiovascular defects (Ros, 2010).
Legumes are known to be a high source of protein providing the body with ~25% of its energy. One serving of legumes gives approximately 7-8g of protein. Often times the quality of legume is misjudged, this can be faulted by the protein-efficacy ratio being used to measure protein quality. There is now a newer way to measure the protein quality called Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) (Messina, 1999).
Soybeans have been shown to contain the greatest amount of protein providing 38% of energy per serving. Unlike nuts, legumes are much lower in fat providing ~5% of energy. Soybean contain 47% of energy per serving whereas, pinto beans only provide 3% of energy. Similarly, to nuts, legumes are a good source of folate which can decrease the risk of neural tube defects in children if the pregnant mother consumes an adequate amount of folate. One serving of beans gives over half of the required amount daily.
Although legumes are high in iron, it has poor bioavailability, in comparison to iron, the bioavailability of zinc and calcium is much greater. Legumes are a better source of fibre than nuts. Diets rich in legumes have been demonstrated to lower serum cholesterol in individuals suffering from hypercholesterolemia (Messina, 1999).
The comprehensive review of nuts and legumes emphasizes their significant role in a balanced diet, highlighting their rich nutritional and bioactive composition. Nuts, characterized by their high unsaturated fat, protein, and fiber content, alongside a plethora of micronutrients and phytochemicals, serve as powerful nutrient-dense foods with a myriad of health benefits. Legumes, on the other hand, stand out for their high protein and fiber content, contributing to dietary diversity and fulfilling essential nutritional requirements with lower fat content compared to nuts.
Does Phytic Acid Influence the Bioactivity of Nuts and Legumes?. (2024, Feb 16). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/document/does-phytic-acid-influence-the-bioactivity-of-nuts-and-legumes
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