A word from Anneke Ammerlaan

Trend watcher

For me, so-called superfood is the most important development within the health trends. Superfoods mean normal, everyday ingredients with exceptionally large amounts of natural, healthy properties. Peanuts and nuts are superfoods, just like broccoli and legumes.

Whilst functional foods are often used as compensation for bad dietary habits, we use superfoods as part of a healthy dietary pattern. With superfoods, taste and health are indissoluble bound together. In this, tasting is a complete sensory experience: appearance, sound and texture are just as important as the actually taste. In the case of peanuts and nuts, sound and eating experience are captured so well in the word ‘crunch’. Just bite on a shelled nut; you feel and hear at once what the word means.

For trendy cooks, for whom healthy cooking with superfoods is a statement, the combination of flavour and crunch has almost made peanuts and nuts a cult product. They use peanuts and nuts for sweet and savoury dishes, as a meat replacement, as exceptional flavouring, and they play with the size in which nuts are chopped. Roughly chopped, as ‘bite’ in pastas and salads or as topping for vegetables and wraps. Finely chopped ground in cakes, biscuit and sauces. An extra property of powdered nuts is that they act as a binding agent. Therefor they can replace flour in dishes. So, gluten free, as a bonus for a delicious, hip fare.

New trends for peanuts and nuts as snacks are foreseen in the flavours ‘exciting’ and ‘extreme’. Exciting refers to the differences in the taste of peanuts and nuts of different origins, whilst extreme is about unexpected and exciting combinations of tastes. Almonds with cumin and chilli pepper, and nuts with curry and a little bit of dried mango are just two unique examples. In short: in addition to the healthy status of superfoods, nuts have also acquired a culinary status, so the future of nuts is unbelievably interesting and versatile.

The foodtrends of 2008

2007 was the year of easy, tasty and healthy food. In 2008 everything has to have that little bit extra. People like their basic foods products to be exclusive, organic is becoming a lifestyle and tastes must be exciting. Because of their versatility, peanuts and nuts fit perfectly in this year’s trends.

Basic products with added value

The year 2008 will see many basic products gaining an exclusive variant. Coffee and tea already have this. Now it’s the turn of the rest of the products. Premium variants of honey, chocolate and water have already been spotted in America. Peanuts and nuts that fit in this trend are for example those with dried superfruits and / or an exclusive flavour.

Food full of nutrients

It are particularly the natural and versatile products containing many and exclusive nutrients that are on the up and up. Food that is delicious and which at the same time helps you lose weight, keeps you healthy or beautiful. Think about products rich in anti-oxidants such as nuts or super fruits (like the açaí and goji berries). These products have been in health food stores for some time, and now the major manufacturers are taking over the trend.

More exotic, distinct flavours

The consumer wants distinct, piquant, spicy flavours. This explains the growing interest in exotic and ethnic dishes. There will be more products on the market with ingredients such as sheabutter, oil of the African baobab tree and hot peppers. For example, in Portugal, a dairy produce manufacturer launched a spicy yoghurt drink on the basis of chocolate, strawberries and chilli peppers.

Sustainable local products

The question, where does my food come from, is becoming increasingly important. The consumer wants more locally produced products. Therefore farmers markets, where you can find local and seasonal products such as fruit, vegetables, potatoes and peanuts & nuts are increasingly popular.

Transparancy

Consumers are more and more health conscious. They want to know what they eat. They demand transparency about nutritional values, ingredients, health facts and the sustainability of the product. Consumers like to have this information on the package. Logos such as the GDA-system provide consumers with information and transparency. These logos are becoming increasingly popular, also on the packages of peanuts and nuts.

Source
1) www.duurzaamnieuws.nl/mvo
2) www.trendwatching.com
3) Food & drink towers

Peanuts and nuts: their role in the prevention of metabolic syndrome

Peanuts and nuts are interesting dietary components in the prevention of metabolic syndrome (Coates & Howe, 2007). Among other things, metabolic syndrome is characterized by an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, abnormalities in the cholesterol and fatty acids levels and increased blood pressure. The consumption of peanuts and nuts has a positive influence on the risk factors of cardiovascular disease. Their favourable effects on the levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood are well known.

Influence on antioxidant status

People suffering from metabolic syndrome often have a reduced antioxidant status. Antioxidants may well have a preventive effect on the occurrence of cardiovascular disease by removing free radicals. Because peanuts and nuts are rich in antioxidants, Davis et al. recently studied whether the daily consumption of walnuts or cashew nuts have a positive effect on the antioxidant status of people with the metabolic syndrome.

In the study, 64 volunteers suffering from metabolic syndrome followed a control diet for 3 weeks, after which they were divided into groups to follow a cashew nut, walnuts or control group diet. These intervention diets were followed for 8 weeks, 20 per cent of their daily energy intake being provided by unsalted walnuts or cashew nuts. Blood samples were taken after the 3-week control diet and at the end of the intervention period in order to define markers for the metabolic syndrome and to determine their antioxidant status.

After the 8 weeks of intervention there appeared to be no significant difference in the antioxidant status of the different diet groups. Although the nuts prior to consumption had a greater antioxidative capacity [the capacity to remove free radicals], this was not translated into a greater antioxidative capacity in the blood. According to the researchers, a possible explanation for this the difference between the antioxidants in the control diet and the nuts diets. Because of differences in their chemical structure, as compared with antioxidants in the control diet, the antioxidants in the nuts are less effective in removing antioxidants from the blood.

Influence on metabolic syndrome

It can be concluded that antioxidants in nuts do not effectively improve the antioxidant status of people with the metabolic syndrome. However, this does not alter the fact that nuts have a favourable influence on other facets of metabolic syndrome, such as the fatty acid profile. In addition, there is also evidence that the consumption of peanuts and nuts can help in regulating weight, and in the insulin and glucose response in people suffering from metabolic syndrome.

Source
1) Coates AM, Howe PR. Edible nuts and metabolic health. Curr Opin Lipidol. 2007; 18: 25-30.
2) Davis et al. The effects of high walnut and cashew nut diets on the antioxidant status of subjects with metabolic syndrome. EJCN. 2007; 46: 155-164.