Over two crop seasons, the National Pecan Shellers
Association collected fresh pecans from several states for the
study.
“It was a really good, national, geographically viable
sampling,” said Ron Eitenmiller, a food scientist with the UGA
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
“Significant pecan cultivars were selected from Arizona, Texas,
Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and other pecan-growing
states.”
Eitenmiller analyzed the samples in his Athens, Ga., lab.
He found the pecans’ nutritional profiles to be constant among
cultivars and across regions.
“The vitamin E content looks to be pretty stable from
year to year as well,” he said. “This work shows that pecans are
not only a really good source of vitamin E. They are also a
constant source.”
Pecans contain the alpha tocopherol form of Vitamin E
that humans best absorb, Eitenmiller said.
“Vitamin E is the primary antioxidant we use,” he said.
“It protects our bodies when chemical reactions produce
oxidative stress, which can be dangerous.”
Vitamin E comes from plants. “We have to get vitamin E
from our diet because our bodies don’t produce it,” Eitenmiller
said. “The major sources are edible oils from soybeans,
peanuts, tree nuts, peanut butter, shortening and those kinds
of foods.”
Connie Crawley, an Extension nutritionist with UGA’s
College of Family and Consumer Sciences, offers suggestions on
getting the best of pecans’ vitamin E into your diet.
Use a small kitchen scale to weigh 1-ounce portions of nuts.
Then chop and store them in single-serving containers.
“Then you can sprinkle them on your cereal at breakfast
or on your salad at lunch,” she said. “They’re a very
concentrated source of calories. This way you’re not tempted to
eat too many.”
Nuts and natural vegetable oils are the preferred sources
of vitamin E. Sunflower seeds are the highest source, Crawley
said. The UGA study found pecans have vitamin E levels similar
to those in almonds, pistachios and walnuts and higher than
those in cashews, macadamia nuts and dry-roasted peanuts.
But getting all your vitamin E from pecans isn’t a good
idea.
“There’s really almost no way to get the recommended
vitamin E in your diet from pecans,” Crawley said. “You’d have
to eat a whole lot of nuts. The recommended dietary intake for
vitamin E is relatively low, and some nutrition groups
recommend taking a supplement containing 200 to 400 milligrams
each day.”
Deciding whether to take supplements is a choice you
should be make with your physician’s advice, she said.
Vitamin E isn’t pecans’ only good quality.
“There’s good information coming out about peanuts and
tree nuts being really good sources of monounsaturated fat,”
Eitenmiller said.
“They also have other components that help with
cholesterol,” he said. “The pecan industry has studied the
impact of pecans on serum cholesterol and found that they lower
it if you routinely ingest them.”
When eaten before meals, pecans can actually suppress
your appetite, he said. Crawley agrees.
“Eating any fat before your meal will make you feel
full,” she said. “So, eating a small amount, like an ounce or 10
nuts, as an appetizer or snack before meals may take the edge off
your hunger.”
But when it comes to eating pecans and other high-fat nuts,
you have to develop a delicate balance.
“Studies show pecans and other nuts can help reduce
hypertension when eaten several times a week,” Crawley said.
“They contain beneficial fiber, and they’re a source of protein
that’s low in saturated fats.”
Compared to other high-fat foods, nuts are a good choice
as long as you can control your portion size. “But that’s the
hard part,” Crawley said.
