Pine nuts are consumed as snacks and are edible seeds that have been used from olden times. Pest sauce is made with pine nuts and is very nutritious for the body. Pine nuts are rich sources of minerals, vitamins, fats and many other elements that are essential for a healthy body. If you want to lower the levels of cholesterol in the blood and have a healthy heart, have a handful of pine nuts daily. This is also good for getting rid of excess weight. Pine nuts are also used in beauty treatments and are good for your skin and the hair.
Benefits of Pine Nuts for the Skin:
Delayed skin aging and moisturizing property:
Pine nuts have all the essential minerals, vitamins and antioxidants in abundant quantities and therefore they are excellent for taking proper care of your skin. The antioxidants and Vitamin E in these nuts help in delaying the process of aging and keep the texture of the skin in good condition. They also protect the skin from the damages caused by the sun and maintain the elasticity of the skin, thus making your skin look young and fresh. Vitamin F in these nuts provides nourishment to the skin and makes the skin supple and young. The pine nut oil with its anti-inflammatory properties is ideal for sensitive skin. It keeps the skin well nourished and well hydrated. It also protects the skin from various other adverse conditions.
Offers revitalized and fresh skin:
Pine nut oil has great healing properties and is extensively used in massage therapy. You can treat various conditions of the skin like itching, pimples, psoriasis, scabies, eczema and sores with pine nut oil. Pine nuts rejuvenate your skin and provide a fresh and revitalized look to your skin.
Relief from dehydrated skin:
Dehydrated skin is a condition when the skin lacks moisture and may become, tight, itchy, rough or flaky. Pine nuts have high moisturizing and hydrating properties and are therefore excellent for getting you relief from dehydrated skin. You can make a body scrub by mixing raw pine nuts and coconut oil and then gently rub your skin with this scrub. This will help in removing all the dead skin cells and makes your skin smooth and hydrated.
Benefits of Pine Nuts for the Hair:
Boost hair growth:
Pine nuts are rich in proteins and Vitamin E. Vitamin E, as you know, is good for increased hair growth. It also keeps the scalp clean and free from dandruff. Selenium and omega 3 fatty acids present in pine nuts help in making the scalp strong and healthier.
Combats hair loss:
Pine nut oil is good for treating hair loss and thinning of hair. Zinc, biotin and Vitamin B6 present in pine nut can prevent hair loss. So, if you want strong, thick and healthy hair use pine nut oil regularly.
Keeps hair healthy and lustrous:
Pine nuts are rich sources of proteins and this is good for protecting the hair from damage. It also helps to keep the hair healthy, strong and lustrous.
How to Select and Store Pine nuts?
Selection:
- When you buy pine nuts from the market, look for those with bright brown colors. They should also be compact and of uniform size. Another way to test if they are of good quality is to take a nut and drop it from a little height. If the nut falls down producing a metallic sound, you can assure that it is of good quality.
- Make sure that the pine nuts you buy from the market are without any cracks and are heavy.
- Another thing to look for is that they should not smell rancid. Pine nuts have high oil content and this makes them turn rancid in a very short time if they are not stored well. So, when you buy pine seeds smell them properly and make sure that they are fresh.
- If you buy from a place where there is high turnover of these nuts, you are sure to get fresh ones.
- You get shelled as well as unshelled pine nuts in the market. Processed pine nuts are also available. When you buy them, make sure that you buy from a reliable source. This will ensure that you get fresh stocks.
Storage:
Always take care to store pine nuts properly as they turn rancid if you are careless with them. You can buy shelled as well as unshelled pine nuts. Unshelled pine nuts stay fresh for a longer time than the shelled ones. You can store them for about 3 to 4 months without getting then rancid. Shelled pine nuts do not stay fresh that long. They get damaged after a while, especially if you store them in a place that is hot and humid. So make sure that you store shelled pine nuts in a cool and dry place. You can store them in the refrigerator.
Pine Nuts: Tips for Usage
Various recipes of pine nuts are available and you can use them in your own way and include them in your daily diet.
- Crunchy addition – Adding pine nuts to chocolates, biscuits, cookies, cakes, granolas, slices etc provide crunchiness to them. You may also add pine nuts to whole meal breads, pizzas that you make at home and so on. You may even ad them to desserts like sundaes, ice creams etc.
- Dressings on bars and smoothies – You can roast the pine nuts and add them as dressing on various salads. You may also put them in fruit smoothies and protein bars. This makes them tasty as well as healthier.
- Nutritious coating on various tasty dishes – You can include pine nuts when you prepare various preparations with meat, vegetables and fish. Pine nuts make a nutritious coating for fish, chicken and tofu when you fry them or bake them.