kelly eLerson, uW uleLeLlc lnLern

Summer 2012
8razll nuLs
8razll nuLs are large seeds of Lhe enormous Lree, !"#$%&''"$() "+,"'-).
whlch ls naLlve Lo Lhe Amazon reglon of SouLh Amerlca.
1
8razll, eru,
8ollvla, Colombla, venezuela, and Lhe Culanas are currenLly Lhe largesL
producers of 8razll nuLs ln Lhe world.
1
1hey can be boughL ln-shell or
shelled, and are eaLen raw, roasLed, and salLed and are ofLen found ln
lce cream, chocolaLe, and bakery producLs.

!"#$%#%&' )$&*%+, - 8razll nuLs have a hlgh faL conLenL compared Lo oLher nuLs, conLalnlng more Lhan 4 g of
saLuraLed faL per ounce. 1hus, Lwo brazll nuLs are calorlcally equlvalenL Lo one egg.
2
As shown ln Lhe Lable
below, flve 8razll nuLs conLaln 26 of Lhe 8uA for magneslum, 33 of Lhe 8uA for copper, and almosL 10 Llmes
Lhe 8uA for selenlum. Powever, sLudles have shown LhaL Lhe amounL of selenlum conLalned ln 8razll nuLs can
vary wldely dependlng on Lhe selenlum conLenL of Lhe soll from whlch Lhey are grown.
1

!"#$%,'# .$&*%+, &* / &"'0, 1234 0&"'#5 &* 6$78%+ !"#9
3-4
MacronuLrlenL er ounce MlcronuLrlenL er ounce 8uA, adulLs
Calorles (kcal) 186 1hlamln (mg) 0.2
17 (m)
18 (w)
roLeln (g) 4.1
Magneslum (mg) 107 26
vlLamln L (mg) 1.6 11
laL (g)
SaLuraLed
MonounsaLuraLed
olyunsaLuraLed
18.8
4.3
7.0
3.8
hosphorous (mg) 206 29
Copper (g) 494 33
Manganese (mg) 34
13 (m)
19 (w)
llber (g) 2.1 Selenlum (g) 344 777

:,+,'%"; 7'< =,'>9 ?,7+#@ - Selenlum ls a componenL of lmporLanL anLloxldanL enzymes LhaL have many
funcLlons lncludlng prevenLlon of cellular damage from free radlcals. ln a recenL meLa-analysls, researchers
found LhaL Lhe rlsk for prosLaLe cancer decreased wlLh lncreaslng plasma/serum selenlum concenLraLlons up Lo
170 ng/mL.
3
lurLhermore, selenlum ls essenLlal for LesLosLerone synLhesls and Lhe formaLlon and developmenL
of spermaLozoa. A few sLudles have shown poslLlve correlaLlons beLween sperm counL and semen selenlum
concenLraLlons as well as selenlum supplemenLaLlon and lmproved sperm quallLy and ferLlllLy.
6
lor Lhls reason,
a number of men's healLh webslLes and books have suggesLed LhaL regular
consumpLlon of 8razll nuLs may lmprove ferLlllLy and counLeracL agalnsL Lhe
naLural decllne of LesLosLerone LhaL occurs wlLh age.

noL surprlslngly, 8razll nuLs have been LouLed as a greaL whole food for men's
healLh. Powever, lL ls lmporLanL Lo noLe LhaL no dlrecL relaLlonshlp beLween
consumpLlon of 8razll nuLs and cancer rlsk or LesLosLerone level has been
esLabllshed. MosL sLudles use selenlum supplemenLs and ofLen lnclude oLher
supplemenLs ln Landem. AlLhough, lL has been shown LhaL consumpLlon of [usL
2 8razll nuLs dally ls as effecLlve ln ralslng plasma selenlum concenLraLlons as
supplemenLs, and may even be more bloavallable for enzymaLlc acLlvlLy.
7



A&B%0%#C - uue Lo Lhe hlgh amounL of selenlum ln 8razll nuLs, lL ls recommended Lo eaL Lhem only occaslonally.
1he Lolerable upper lnLake llmlL for selenlum ls 400 mcg per day for adulLs
4
, whlch ls equlvalenL Lo abouL 4-3
8razll nuLs. Plgh blood levels of selenlum can resulL ln selenosls, whlch can cause gasLrolnLesLlnal upseLs, halr
loss, faLlgue, lrrlLablllLy, and mlld nerve damage.
8

kelly eLerson, uW uleLeLlc lnLern
Summer 2012

D,9&"$0,9E
1. lrancls, lrederlck !. (1999). Wlley Lncyclopedla of lood Sclence and 1echnology (2nd LdlLlon) volumes 1-4.
(pp: 2676-2683). !ohn Wlley & Sons.
2. McCee, Parold. Cn lood and Cooklng: 1he Sclence and Lore of Lhe klLchen. Scrlbner, new ?ork 8evlsed
edlLlon 2004.
3. uSuA. naLlonal nuLrlenL uaLabase for SLandard 8eference. 8elease 24 SofLware v.8elease 1.0 3/30/12.
4. uSuA. naLlonal AgrlculLural Llbrary. hLLp://fnlc.nal.usda.gov/dleLary-guldance/dleLary-reference-
lnLakes/drl-Lables. Accessed 06/21/12.
3. PursL, 8achel, eL al. Selenlum and prosLaLe cancer: sysLemaLlc revlew and meLa-analysls. /0 1 2'(3 45$#
2012,96:111-22.
6. MlsLry, PlLen, eL al. Selenlum ln reproducLlve healLh. /0 1 67-"$" 893",&' 2012,!an:21-27.
7. 1homson, ChrlsLlne, eL al. 8razll nuLs: an effecLlve was Lo lmprove selenlum sLaLus. /0 1 2'(3 45$#
2008,87:379-84.
8. naLlonal lnsLlLuLes of PealLh, Cfflce of uleLary SupplemenLs. hLLp://ods.od.nlh.gov/facLsheeLs/Selenlum-
PealLhrofesslonal/. Accessed 06/21/12.