Health Benefits of Nuts and Dried Fruits

Nuts and dried fruits are part of our daily diet. They are consumed whole or as ingredients of many food products such as muffins, cereals, chocolates, energy bars, breads, and cookies, among others. Health Benefits of Nuts and Dried Fruits provides a comprehensive overview of the literature on the health benefits of nuts and dried fruits. The book summarizes the current state of knowledge in key research areas and provides ideas for future scientific research and product development. Nuts, a term that comprises tree nuts and peanuts, are highly nutritious, containing health-promoting macronutrients, micronutrients, vitamins, and bioactive phytochemicals; they are one of the edible foods with the highest content in antioxidants. The consumption of nuts is recognized for its health-promoting properties, which ranges from a consistent cholesterol-lowering effect in clinical trials to a robust association with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in prospective studies. In spite of the high energy content of nuts, there is no evidence that their frequent consumption promotes obesity, and they may even help control it. Dried fruits, which serve as important healthful snacks worldwide, are nutritionally equivalent to fresh fruits while providing all of their bioactive components in concentrated form. While the evidence level concerning the health effects of dried fruits lags behind that on nuts, it suggests that individuals who consume dried fruits regularly have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and other non-communicable diseases. Main features of the book concerning nuts and dried fruits: • Provides detailed information on health effects • Highlights current regulation and health claims • Provides updated dietary recommendations • Describes nutrient absorption and metabolism • Discusses mechanisms implicated in the health effects Although this book is intended primarily as a reference, by comprehensively reviewing the current state of knowledge it can guide future research on the topic. Among others, food scientists, biochemists, nutritionists, health professionals, decision makers, and regulatory agencies can draw much benefit from its contents. Hopefully, it will help in public health strategies to promote healthy aging and improve population wellbeing. "Nuts are dried fruits are part of our daily diet. They are consumed as whole or as ingredients throughout the food system as products such as muffins, cereals, chocolates, energy bars, Nutella, breads, and cookies, among others. Health Benefits of Nuts and Dried Fruits provides a comprehensive overview of the literature on the health benefits of nuts and dried fruits. The book summarizes the current state of knowledge in key research areas and contain ideas for future product development. Nuts contain a number of bioactives and health-promoting components. They are highly nutritious and contain macronutrients, micronutrients, fat-soluble bioactives, and phytochemicals. Moreover, nuts contain numerous types of antioxidants with different properties. In addition, nuts are recognized for their health-promoting aspects, particularly for their role in reducing cardiovascular disease risk. This may be due to the favorable lipid profile and low-glycemic nature of nuts. Dried fruits, which serve as important healthful snacks worldwide, provide a concentrated form of fresh fruits. They are nutritionally equivalent to fresh fruits in smaller serving sizes, ranging from 30 to 43 g depending on the fruit, in current dietary recommendation in different countries. Various scientific evidence suggest that individuals who consume dried fruits regularly have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, certain types of cancer, type II diabetes, metabolic syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, and osteoporosis as well as other non-communicable diseases. Features: Provides detailed information in health effects of nuts and dried fruits Highlights current regulation and health claims of nuts and dried fruits Provides updated dietary recommendations on nuts and dried fruits Discusses metabolism and absorption of nuts and dried fruits Discusses the mechanisms implicated in the health effects of nuts Although this book is intended primarily as a reference book, it will also summarize the current state of knowledge in key research areas and contain idea for future work for the reader. Food Scientists, biochemists, nutritionists, health professionals, decision makers, and regulatory agencies, among others will benefits from this book"-- Provided by publisher Health Benefits of Nuts and Dried Fruits provides a comprehensive overview of the literature on the health benefits of nuts and dried fruits, summarizing the current state of knowledge in key research areas and providing ideas for future scientific resea dietary,recommendations;,dried,fruits;,health,benefits;,nutrition;,nuts;,research;,product,development dietary recommendations,dried fruits,health benefits,nutrition,nuts,research,product development