There's a new nut on the market called Baru Ammons, branded as Baruchas, or just Baru nuts.

Technically, it isn't a nut, but a seed that's native to the Brazilian savannah known as

the Cerrado, which is sadly now among the most threatened ecosystems in the world.

Over the last 30 years, extensive cattle ranching and feed crop production to fatten said

cattle have destroyed much of this ecosystem.

So hey, if we can make it profitable not to cut down the native trees by selling barrow nuts,

for example, then that could be good for the ecosystem's health, but what about our health?

Although barrow nuts are popular and widely consumed, few studies report on their biological properties,

they do have a lot of polyphenol phytonutrients, presumably accounting for their high

antioxidant activity, and 90 percent of the phytonutrients are present in the peel.

So are they nutritious?

Sure.

But do they have any special health benefits?

And not just for the treatment of chubby mice.

Groups fed baronauts showed lower cholesterol,

supposedly indicating that they have a great potential for dietary use

in preventing controlling cholesterol problems,

but the groups were rats.

And that was compared to lard.

Basically anything lowers your cholesterol compared to eating lard.

Nevertheless, there haven't been any reports about the effects of barrow almond consumption

on human health until this study. A randomized controlled study of humans found that eating

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