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Are eating nuts good for you
Nuts about nuts
By Eric G. Stark
Feb 23, 2004 11:24 AM
Lancaster Sunday News
http://www.lancasteronline.com/index.shtm
Diets like Atkins and heart-healthy claims have local nut sellers
and growers excited, as more Americans snack on nuts
You've heard an apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Well, a few nuts don't hurt, either.
E. Paul Weaver III, owner of Weaver Nut Co. Inc., Ephrata, eats a
handful of roasted peanuts every day for good health. John
Maksel, chief financial officer and treasurer for Weaver's said
he eats almonds every day.
They eat nuts because research shows they are good for you, and
because of high-protein diets, many Americans are adding nuts to
their diets, too.
Diets like Atkins and heart-healthy claims have local nut sellers
and growers excited about the industry, as more Americans snack
on nuts and add them to such things as salads.
"I hope it doesn't get too popular,'' Miles O. Nolt, a Manheim
nut grower, joked. "We're a little laid back.'' Nolt, 87, who has
about 80 trees on his farm, sells nuts out of his 564 W. High St.
home. He has sold out of several kinds of nuts. He planted his
first two trees in 1950. One tree in Strasburg that he purchases
the rights to the nuts produces about 230 pounds of pecans year;
it comes from an Amish farmer. Nolt said he cracks about 230
pounds of pecans during the winter. .000 He said in the last 15
years, the purchasing of nuts has doubled. He sells 20-30 baskets
of English Walnuts and 10-15 baskets of hickory.
Because of diets like Atkins, business profits have increased in
the last two or three months 7-8 percent, Maksel said. Weaver's,
which has stores in Ephrata and on Columbia Avenue (this store is
owned by Edwards Co. LLC), has been in business for 30 years.
"It's helping our business,'' he said. "Nuts have always been
good for you. We have seen an increase in retail and wholesale.
Raw nut consumption has increased, especially almonds.''
Nationally, the sale of nuts is also on the rise. U.S. nut sales
jumped 11 percent last year, to $1.8 million, according to a
Chicago Tribune article, which cited research from the firm
ACNielsen. The figures do not include Wal-Mart sales.
In 2002, the U.S. peanut crop.000 was.000 about 3.4 billion
pounds and sold for about 31 cents a pound. In the first five
months of 2002, Weaver's had sold 1.35 million pounds of peanuts.
According to the National Peanut Board, Americans consume more
than 600 million pounds of peanuts a year, which is not bad for
an industry known for its slow growth. When the trend swings
toward low-fat diets, sales often slow down. Recently, there has
been positive news about the industry.
Last year the Food and Drug Administration approved a health
claim that nuts might reduce the risk of heart disease. According
to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one ounce of dry roasted
peanuts provides 13 percent of the recommended daily intake of
protein.
"If eaten in moderation, I am told, nuts, decrease cholesterol
and helps with weight loss,'' Maksel said. "If you eat a couple
of ounces, maximum, during snack times it works to your
advantage.'' Jere Groff, treasurer for the 204-member
Pennsylvania Nut Growers Association, said there is definitely an
interest in nuts, but growing them has to be a labor of love,
because "you are not going to get rich off it.'' He said it is a
long-term proposition, but a tremendous hobby. Hickory trees take
eight-10 years to get a nut, and for pecans, it takes about four
years and eight-10 years for any quantity.
Groff said he enjoys the popularity nuts have recently obtained,
and he gets satisfaction from planting a tree and watching it
grow. He has about 30 trees.
"As the trees get larger, my family and I won't be able to eat
all the nuts,'' he joked. "So I will have to sell more.'' For the
third year, the nut growers association had a stand at the Farm
Show. Eight growers sold nuts and most sold out, said Groff, who
said they could have easily sold more.
He said even though diets might go in trends, the popularity of
nuts really doesn't change too much.
"Nuts are prized the world over for their taste, that's it in a
nutshell,'' Groff said. "If you like it, you'll continue to eat it.'"
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