Roasted vs raw nuts: Which is more nutritious?
Healthy, crunchy and tasty. There are ample reasons why you should include nuts in your diet. From cashews to almonds, pistachios to walnuts, you can avail several varieties of nuts available in the market. Each one of them is distinctive and is power-packed with nutrients. These nutritious nuts even offer different health benefits.
However, a major confusion that people have while buying nuts is to choose between roasted and raw nuts. Which one is more healthy? This is a common question that most have. Here in this article, we have tried to find the answer to this question and make it easier for you to choose the right one.
​Roasted nuts
In
most cases, nuts are roasted to make them more crunchy and tasty.
Sometimes it is mandatory to roast the nuts to remove the outer-hard
covering from their kernel similar to cashews. Except for pistachios and
cashews, nuts are mostly roasted without the shell.
There are two ways to roast nuts: dry roasting and oil roasting.
The difference in the nutrient content
There is a slight difference between the nutrient content of raw and roasted nuts. Due to exposure to high temperature, the nuts lose some of the nutrients. The number of carbs and protein is the same. However, there is a slight difference between fat and calories per gram.
The downside of roasting nuts
It is not that roasted nuts are unhealthy, but heating causes some of its healthy fats to get damaged or oxidised.
Nuts are rich in healthy, nourishing monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. So, when they are exposed to high temperature they change their structure, which leads to the formation of harmful free radicals. Excess of harmful free radicals can damage the cells.
Besides, there lies a risk of oxidation of polyunsaturated fats while storing the roasted nuts. The fat may react with oxygen easily, causing oxidation. This decreases the shelf-life of the nuts.
Another major downside of roasting nuts is that it leads to the formation of harmful chemicals. Roasting at high temperature may lead to the formation of acrylamide and acrylamide in high proportion might cause cancer. Almonds are more prone to develop this compound while roasting.
The downside of eating raw nuts
Just like roasted nuts, even raw nuts have limitations. Raw nuts contain strains of bacteria that might cause health issues. Salmonella and E. coli are the two most common bacteria found in raw nuts. Dry roasting or treating the nuts with steam kill these bacteria and reduce the risk of contamination.
The bottom line
Nuts are an excellent option for healthy
snacking. Having a handful of nuts between meals can increase your
satiety and prevent you from indulging into unhealthy food items.
However, when it comes to choosing between roasted and raw nuts, you
must remember that both have their pros and cons.
The nutrient content is almost the same, but roasted nuts contain more calories, salt and fat. If you are watching your weight and trying to cut down the salt intake then roasted nuts might not be the best option for you.