hazelnut heart health

Hazelnuts are Good for the Heart

What an exciting morning at the grocery store! YES! I am one of those people that actually enjoy grocery shopping. Okay, not all the time. Just when I get to go in the early morning before the crowds arrive.

Also, it’s exciting when I find products I haven’t tried before that might help lower blood pressure naturally, in addition to many other health benefits. To me, food really is a type of medicine. If you think about the fact that our body directly absorbs what we put in it, that’s some powerful stuff! Choose wisely!

I was walking along the dried fruit and nuts aisle at my favorite grocery store: Trader Joe’s. (By the way, if you’ve never been there, check out the store locator!) I grabbed my usual bag of dry roasted unsalted cashews, because as I’ve discussed here and here, cashews are super healthy and great for the heart. Suddenly, a bag of hazelnuts caught my eye. I’ve had hazelnut lattes, but this is my first time seeing hazelnuts sold dry roasted and unsalted in a store.

Like the big, blood pressure nerd that I am, I whipped out my phone and did a quick Google searches on the nutritional benefit of hazelnuts. Here’s what I found!

Nutritional Benefits of Hazelnuts

  • Good source of omega-3 fatty acids (those are good fats!). Omega-3s can help lower the risk of developing cardiovascular disease
  • Good source of antioxidants, which protect your body from oxidative stress (cell and tissue damage). This type of cell and tissue damage can affect your blood pressure.
  • Good source of phenolic compounds, which help your heart by reducing cholesterol and inflammation
  • Good source of magnesium and potassium, which can help lower blood pressure naturally

Have you tried hazelnuts before? How do you prefer to eat them? Any good recipes to share? Hope you’re having a fantastic day!

  • Hazelnuts are heart healthy nuts; give them a try sometime!
  • hazelnut heart health
    Oregon Hazelnuts that I found at Trader Joe’s today! Be sure to choose dry roasted and unsalted.

References

13 thoughts on “Hazelnuts are Good for the Heart”

    1. I’ve only had them in chocolatey desserts but never on their own! Hope you get to try one sometime. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

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