Hazelnuts amazing health benefits includes supporting healthy heart, managing diabetes, supporting brain health, preventing cancer, supporting weight loss, preventing neural damage, promoting healthy muscles, supporting bone health, supporting nervous system health, and enhancing the skin.
Hazelnuts are nutritionally dense fruits, with a high content of good fats and protein that help the body perform its regenerative functions and also maintain muscle health. This article discusses 11 amazing health benefits of hazelnuts.
History
Hazelnuts have been a part of the human diet since prehistoric times, excavation sites in China, dating back 5000 years have evidence of hazelnut cultivation. Hazelnuts were considered one of China’s five sacred foods.
Hazelnut shells from the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras have been discovered dating back 10,000 years. Hazelnuts were a major part of the prehistoric human diet; most archeologists speculate that they ate hazelnuts to keep them full to run on hunting sprees.
Interesting facts: Hazelnuts and hazelnut trees have been surrounded by myth and magic for decades. The branches were used as rods to locate underground springs and torches made out of the wood from the hazelnut trees were lit during weddings as a sign of fertility and prosperity. Hazelnuts were one of the favorite foods for Greek physicians and they were believed to have magical healing powers. Hazelnuts are even a part of Greek mythology, with Mercury the son of Jupiter receiving a winged wand carved from hazelnut wood from his father. This hazel rod, entwined with two serpents later became a symbol of communication.