Delicious, crunchy, and nutty peanuts are one of the popular oil seeds known to humankind since ancient times. The nuts are enriched with many noteworthy health-benefiting nutrients that are essential for optimum health. They are actually legumes but have almost all the qualities that true nuts like almonds have.

Botanically, the nuts are small size fruit pods of plant belonging to the fabaceae family of the genus Arachis. Some of common names are groundnut, earthnuts etc.

Scientific name: Arachis hypogaea.
Peanut is a small annual herb, believed to be originating in the Central Americas from where it spread to rest of the world through Spanish explorers. Today, the nuts are widely cultivated oil seeds and has established as prime commercial crop in China, India, African nations, and the United States of America.

After the seedling, the plant takes approximately 120 to 150 days to produce the crop. The process of peanut development is quite interesting! The yellow flowers, after self-pollination, develop in to "ovaries," called pedicels, which elongate rapidly to turn downward to bury several inches deep under the ground from where the fruits develop into peanut pods we know.

To harvest, the entire plant, including roots, is dug out from the soil. Each plant may bear 10-150 fruit pods. The pods have wrinkled shells that are constricted between pairs of the two to four seeds per pod. Each seed is covered with thin brown colour cover and can be split in to two halves as in any other legumes.

Bambara groundnuts (Vigna subterranea L. Verdc) are different from American groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea) in that they appear somewhat like round cowpeas. Bambara groundnuts are indeed one of the popular legume crops in many African regions, providing much needed protein, fat and other essential nutrients of vegetable origin.

Health benefits

Peanuts are rich in energy and contain many health benefiting nutrients, minerals, antioxidants and vitamins that are essential for optimum health.

They are especially, rich in mono-unsaturated fatty acids like oleic acids that help to lower LDL or "bad cholesterol" and increase HDL or "good cholesterol". Research studies suggest that Mediterranean diet, which is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids helps to prevent coronary artery disease and strokes by favouring healthy blood lipid profile.

These nuts are good source of dietary protein compose fine quality amino acids that are essential for growth and development.

Research studies have shown that peanuts contain high concentrations of poly-phenolic antioxidants, primarily in p-coumaric acid, which is believed to reduce the risk of stomach cancer by reducing the formation of carcinogenic nitrosamines.

Peanuts are excellent source of resveratrol, another polyphenol antioxidant, which has been found to have protective function against cancers, heart disease, degenerative nerve disease, Alzheimer's disease, and viral/fungal infections.

Studies suggests that resveratrol reduces stroke risk by alteration of molecular mechanisms in blood vessels (reducing susceptibility to vascular damage through decreased activity of angiotensin, a systemic hormone causing blood vessel constriction that would elevate blood pressure) and by increasing production of the vasodilator hormone, nitric oxide.

Recent research studies suggest that boiling enhances antioxidant concentration in the peanuts. It has been found that boiled peanuts have two and four fold increase in isoflavone antioxidants biochanin A and genistein content, respectively. (Journal of agricultural and food chemistry).

The nuts are an excellent source of vitamin E (a-tocopherol); containing about 8 g per100 g. vitamin E is a powerful lipid soluble antioxidant which helps maintain the integrity of cell membrane of mucus membranes and skin by protecting from harmful oxygen free radicals.

The nuts are packed with many important B-complex groups of vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6, and folates. 100 g of peanuts provide about 85% of RDI of niacin, which contribute to brain health and blood flow to brain.

The nuts are rich source of minerals like copper, manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium.

Just a hand full of peanuts per day provides enough recommended levels of phenolic anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins, and protein.

Good for heart health: Peanuts are a fantastic source of Vitamin E, niacin, folate, protein as well as manganese all of which are recognized to encourage heart health. They’re also full of monounsaturated fats, the kind of fat which is emphasized in cardio protecting diets. Research has even demonstrated that a higher monounsaturated diet which emphasized peanuts as well as peanut butter decreased coronary disease risk by approximately 21%.

Prevention of gallstones: Gallstones really are an illness a problem that always occur in females. There are numerous cures to it, there are lots of safety measures too; yet the yummiest safety measure appears to be that of consuming peanuts. We see that even here peanuts show their magic like a survey carried out over eighty thousand women has demonstrated that those who consume peanuts or even peanut butter or any source of peanuts daily or perhaps in their daily routine appear to have nearly a 25% lesser chance of getting gallstones. This really is astonishing for just one ounce of peanuts is required daily to avoid gallbladder illnesses. You might consume a sand that or in any form to obtain the nutrition contained in a whole wheat bread along with proteins, fibres and what not.

Prevents Cancer: Legumes just like peanuts have a superior power of a form of phytosterols known as beta-sitosterol (SIT). These types of phytosterols prevent cancer simply by inhibiting tumour development. An investigation carried out in the United States noticed that men and women who consumed peanuts at least two times per week correspondingly had 27% and 58% lower chance of getting colon cancer.

Improves Memory: Peanuts are usually called the “brain food” since they consist of Vitamin B3 or even niacin that enhances brain functioning as well as improves memory. Additionally they include a flavonoid known as resveratrol which will help in enhancing blood circulation towards the brain simply by 30%.

Help Fight Depression: Serotonin is probably the key brain chemicals involved with mood regulation. Insufficient release of serotonin by the nerve cells within the brain is accountable for triggering depressive disorders. Peanuts consist of an amino acid known as tryptophan that helps the release of serotonin, therefore assisting you combat depression symptoms. It may further raise serotonin anti-depressant effects when there is an elevated serotonin development within the blood.

Beneficial for Children: Children need extra nutrition within their growing years to lead a healthy life thereafter. Peanuts are a fantastic method to obtain dietary protein made up of fine quality amino acids that are vital for growth and development.

Aids Weight Management: Although it seems unusual, frequent usage of nuts is assigned to reduce chance of putting on weight. The mixture of fibre, fat as well as protein content in peanuts causes them to be a high satisfied food. Therefore, they are able to keep you full for extended and therefore reducing your hunger. Also, they are great sources of energy that assist in boosting the metabolic rate. These qualities play a role in weight-loss.

Prevents Alzheimer’s: Research has demonstrated that usage of niacin rich foods just like peanuts lowers the chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease by 70%. A quarter cup of peanuts can offer almost a quarter of the suggested daily value of niacin.

Fertility enhancement: Due to the fact that peanuts include folate, a substance that boosts fertility, it really is extremely sensible for ladies to modify in their diets. Peanuts include a sufficient quantity of folate within them as well as research and considerable studies have shown that an everyday consumption of 400 micrograms of folic acid (present in folate) boosts fertility in addition to offers excellent immunity to the child being born. Likelihood of miscarriages reduce significantly. Also abnormality and chances of neural or even physiological condition risk greatly. Therefore a woman need to particularly eat peanuts if she would like to get pregnant and also throughout her pregnancy too.

Prevents hair loss: Vitamin C contained in peanuts assist in the production of collagen, which will keep the tissues within our hair together. They likewise have l-arginine which is often used for treating male pattern baldness, as well as omega 3 fatty acids that fortifies our follicles of hair and promotes hair growth.

Protects Against Age-related Cognitive Decline (Vitamin B2): Research participants have demonstrated that those who’ve a consumption of the most niacin-rich foods just like peanuts were 70% less inclined to have developed Alzheimer’s disease. A quarter cup each day of peanuts can easily already offer nearly a quarter of the everyday required value for niacin.