THE FOOD VALUE OF NUTS.
DR. J. H. KELLOGG, BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN.
Of all really valuable foodstuffs nuts are the least used and the least appreciated. In fact, nuts can hardly be said to constitute a part of the national bill of fare for the reason that when eaten at all they are taken as luxuries or deserts and not as staple foods. But the nut possesses special properties which entitle it to first consideration as a foodstuff, and the writer has no doubt that some time in the future nuts will become a leading constituent of the national bill of fare, and in so doing, will displace certain foodstuffs which today are held in high esteem, but which in the broader light of the next century will be regarded as objectionable and inferior foods and will give place to the products of the various varieties of nut trees which will then be estimated at their true worth, the very choicest of all substances capable of sustaining human life. Botanically, a nut is a fruit, but nuts differ so widely both in composition and appearance from the foods commonly called fruits that they are properly placed in a class by themselves.
In nutritive value the nut far exceeds all other food substances; for example, the average number of food units per pound furnished by half a dozen of the more common varieties of nuts is 3231 calories, while the average of the same number of varieties of cereals is 1654 calories, half the value of nuts. The average food value of the best vegetables is 300 calories per pound and of the best fresh fruits grown in this country is 278 calories. The average food value of the six principal flesh foods is 810 calories per pound, or one-fourth that of nuts.
The superior nutritive value of nuts is clearly shown by the accompanying tables based upon the analyses of Atwater and other authorities.
TABLE I.
COMPOSITION OF NUTS (C. F. LANGWORTHY).
Composition and Fuel Value of the Edible Portion.
Food
Edible Carbohy- Value
Refuse. Portion. Water. Protein. Fats. drates. Ash. per lb.
Per ct. Per ct. Per ct. Per ct. Per ct. Per ct. Per ct. Cal.
Almonds 64.8 35.2 4.8 21.0 54.9 17.3 2.0 3,030
Brazil nuts 49.6 50.4 5.3 17.0 66.8 7.0 3.9 3,328
Filberts 52.1 47.9 3.7 15.6 65.3 13.0 2.4 3,432
Hickory nuts 62.2 37.8 3.7 15.4 67.4 11.4 2.1 3,495
Pecan nuts 53.2 46.8 3.0 11.0 71.2 13.3 1.5 3,633
English walnuts. 58.0 42.0 2.8 16.7 64.4 14.8 1.3 3,305
Chestnuts, fresh. 16.0 84.0 45.0 6.2 5.4 42.1 1.3 1,125
Chestnuts, dried. 24.0 76.0 5.9 10.7 7.0 74.2 2.2 1,875
Acorns 35.6 64.4 4.1 8.1 37.4 48.0 2.4 2,718
Beechnuts 40.8 59.2 4.0 21.9 57.4 13.2 3.5 3,263
Butternuts 86.4 13.6 4.5 27.9 61.2 3.4 3.0 3,371
Walnuts 74.1 25.9 2.5 27.6 56.3 11.7 1.9 3,105
Cocoanuts 48.8 51.2 14.1 5.7 50.6 27.9 1.7 2,986
Cocoanuts, shredded, … 100.0 3.5 6.3 57.3 31.6 1.3 3,125
Pistachios, kernels … 100.0 4.2 22.6 54.5 15.6 3.1 3,010
Pine nuts or pinons 40.6 59.4 3.4 14.6 61.9 17.3 2.8 3,364
Peanuts, raw 24.5 75.5 9.2 25.8 38.6 24.4 2.0 2,560
Peanuts, roasted 32.6 67.4 1.6 30.5 49.2 16.2 2.5 3,177
Litchi nuts 41.6 58.4 17.9 2.9 .2 77.5 1.5 1,453