• Pumpkin seeds have long been valued as a source of the mineral zinc, and the World Health Organization recommends their consumption as a good way of obtaining this nutrient. If you want to maximize the amount of zinc that you will be getting from your pumpkin seeds, we recommend that you consider purchasing them in unshelled form. Although recent studies have shown there to be little zinc in the shell itself (the shell is also called the seed coat or husk), there is a very thin layer directly beneath the shell called the endosperm envelope, and it is often pressed up very tightly against the shell. Zinc is especially concentrated in this endosperm envelope. Because it can be tricky to separate the endosperm envelope from the shell, eating the entire pumpkin seed—shell and all—will ensure that all of the zinc-containing portions of the seed will be consumed. Whole roasted, unshelled pumpkin seeds contain about 10 milligrams of zinc per 3.5 ounces, and shelled roasted pumpkin seeds (which are often referred to pumpkin seed kernels) contain about 7-8 milligrams. So even though the difference is not huge, and even though the seed kernels remain a good source of zinc, you'll be able to increase your zinc intake if you consume the unshelled version.
• While pumpkin seeds are not a highly rich source of vitamin E in the form of alpha-tocopherol, recent studies have shown that pumpkin seeds provide us with vitamin E in a wide diversity of forms. From any fixed amount of a vitamin, we are likely to get more health benefits when we are provided with that vitamin in all of its different forms. In the case of pumpkin seeds, vitamin E is found in all of the following forms: alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, delta-tocopherol, alpha-tocomonoenol, and gamma-tocomonoenol. These last two forms have only recently been discovered in pumpkin seeds, and their health benefits—including antioxidant benefits—are a topic of current interest in vitamin E research, since their bioavailability might be greater than some of the other vitamin E forms. The bottom line: pumpkin seeds' vitamin E content may bring us more health benefits that we would ordinarily expect due to the diverse forms of vitamin E found in this food.

Pistachio is rich in copper, magnesium, and various types of vitamin B that improve the immunity system of body and prevents various diseases. Vitamin B6 is essential for preserving the function of immunity system. Deficiency of vitamin B6 leads to inefficiency of the immunity system against infections. Moreover, consuming pistachio helps appropriate production of red blood cells. Pistachio is one of the best sources of potassium, and its rate of potassium, despite its small body, is equal to an orange.
Since it is rich in vitamin E, pistachio is useful for skin, since vitamin E protects the skin against UV radiation.
Pistachio is a kernel with high rate of fiber, and in addition to digesting the food, it helps the reduction of cholesterol and blood sugar.
Also, pistachio, as a source of iron, is useful for preventing anemia.
Pistachio stimulates the sexual desire and also the memory.

Soft shell almond is the modified type of ordinary almond. It is a plant with laxative, tranquilizing, antioxidant properties with nutritive materials, which has industrial and medical uses in addition to edible consumption.

Properties of soft shell almond:

It causes loss of weight, reduces blood sugar and prevents diabetes; moreover, it stimulates the pulmonary function, strengthens the bones, and increases sexual desire.

Nuts are among the alternative foods that their regular consumption is greatly recommended, and they become most popular in special days of the year such as Yalda night (the longest night of the year) or Nowrouz (New Year period). Nuts and different types of fatty grains have various properties, since in addition to causing the fast sense of being full, they are among the low-calorie materials that their consumption does not cause obesity. There are different types of nuts that you can have some of them directly, or, roast them to improve their tastes, or you can process them in different ways. Many of the nutritionists recommend regular consumption of nuts in the diet.
Why is it recommended to regularly use nuts? The most important reason is the existence of extensive nutrients in nuts. It can be said that nuts include rather complete nutrients; these nutrients include vitamins, minerals, etc. benefiting from all the nutrients in nuts depends on their processing type. One of the best ways to prepare nuts without wasting their nutrients is boiling them.
Not only nuts, but also the dried fruits have extensive advantages for human health. A dried fruit is one that the fluid in it is evaporated to a great extent by the drying processes. The volume of the fruit gets smaller and its appearance becomes wrinkled, but the compaction of its energy increases. In this article, we intend to describe some of the advantages of dried fruits and nuts for human health.
1-Source of protein
The first property of nuts for health is their richness in protein, by which they can help maintain health. You do not need to have different expensive and astonishing foods to provide your body protein. It is only sufficient to have nuts.
2-Properties of nuts: Rich in calcium
One of the properties of nuts is being rich in calcium. Calcium is useful and essential for the health of teeth and bones. If you have encountered with tooth problem or osteoporosis, it is essential to have nuts every day.
3-A source of potassium
Nuts are considered as a natural source for potassium. Potassium is one of the important nutrients for the body that can improve and maintain heart conditions. Maintaining the heart proper conditions preserves the health of all the body.
4-Properties of nuts: A source of vitamin B
Nuts are a healthy food material and a healthy and natural source for vitamin B. In case of having nuts every day and if your body is not confronting with the deficiency of vitamin B, you will be protected against different diseases.
5-Antioxidant function
Nuts contain a considerable amount of antioxidants. Antioxidants have the duty to protect the body against destructive effects due to free radicals.
6-Useful for the health of muscles
If you regularly consume nuts, you will protect the health of your muscles. Consuming this healthy and unique food material can help the tranquility of your muscles and prevent the symptoms such as cramps and stiff muscles in the body.
7-Properties of nuts: Arthritis prevention
By regular consumption of nuts, women can benefit from many of its advantages. These delicious and tasty foods prevent the onset of many diseases that women confront more than men. One of these disease is arthritis that can have negative effects on the health of body.
8-Nutrition of heart
One of the other properties of nuts for health includes its effects on proper heart functioning. Not only consuming nuts is essential for improving the heart performance, but you can even consume them with other edible materials such as vegetables and the fruits rich in nutrients for your heart to benefit from the considered advantages of the.
9-Prevention from brain stroke
Brain stroke can easily be prevented by consuming nuts. If you feel some of the signs of stroke in your body, you’d better consume more nuts regularly, since nuts have powerful properties that can prevent brain strokes.
10-Properties of nuts: Maintaining the brain concentration
A healthy brain is one that can easily concentrate, especially when you are doing various activities that require the brain function. Help yourself to have more concentration by increasing the consumption of nuts.
11-Maintaining oral health
The existing bioactive contents in dry fruits, especially raisin can fight against the microbes affecting the oral disorders. One of the effective materials in the nuts is oleanolic acid that fights against Porphyromonas gingivalis, the cause of periodontal disease. Moreover, oleanolic acid can help prevent dental plaque formation.
12-Strengthening the bones and heart
The group of dried fruits, rich in polyphenols, such as apricot, cranberry, blueberry, and date can help the structure and compaction of bones and protect heart against different problems. Moreover, calcium, manganese, and iron existing in the dried fruits can help prevent osteoporosis.
13-Protecting the digestive system
Similar to fresh fruits, dried fruits are also rich in fiber. Fiber can certainly help in improving the performance of digestive system and maintaining its flexibility.
14-Prevention from chronic diseases
According to Dr. Daniel Gallagher from Minnesota University in the U.S.A., dried fruits have low glycemic load. This can help in preventing the diseases related to blood sugar, such as diabetes. Not only the dried fruits prevent diabetes, but also according to the researcher, they can prevent the onset of cancer, since the contents of some dried fruits can stop the growth pf cancerous cells and suppress their inflammation.
15-Anticancer
Consuming an apple can take you away from various diseases. Apple and dried apricot daily consumption can prevent the onset of cancer. Apple and dried apricot contain herbal nutritive materials that act as antioxidants. Also, these two edible materials are considered as good sources of fiber. Furthermore, they contain vitamin A, vitamin C, and iron.
16-Skin nourishment
Healthy skin is usually fresh, bright and humid. The foodstuff such as dried mango contains large amounts of herbal nutrients, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids that help in nourishing the skin. Raisin or dried grape can also be used for maintaining skin health and preventing early-aging.
17-Properties of nuts: Rich in potassium
Exactly similar to nuts, dried fruits also contain potassium. Potassium is important for maintaining and adjusting blood pressure. Potassium deficiency potentially cause hypertension. Regular consumption of sodium and potassium compositions can balance the existing water in the body and skin. For the daily requirement of potassium, you can have some dried apricots or died plums.
18-Rich in iron
Consuming iron can help in improving the blood circulation. For the daily requirement of potassium, you can have dried plums or dried apricots or raisin. Plums and apricots can prevent the emergence of anemia. Moreover, raisin is also rich in potassium, magnesium, phosphorous, and iron.
19-Rich in calorie
Calorie indicates the body source of energy. Dried fruits can be the source of energy. Thus, it is recommended to have dried fruits in your breakfasts. A combination of dried fruits such as raisin, and dried cranberry and plum with grains and milk can provide a complete breakfast for everybody. Your body will be ready for doing the required activities by having such a breakfast.
Other properties of nuts for health
20-Helping the digestive system
21-Useful for skin
22-Helping in brightness of skin
23-Preventing dried and dark skin
24-Anticancer
25-Generally, nuts contain a great amount of important minerals such as phosphorous, potassium, zinc, selenium, and copper, which are essential for the health of vital members of body.

Dried fruits are useful and have useful therapeutic effects, without having any side effects. They are nutritive and provide the required energy for the body. In fact, in can be said that dried fruits act as natural caps for maintaining health in people.
Everyone should take care of his/her health. We should have appropriate nutrition for having healthy body, and we should also have adequate physical exercises.
Consuming natural food such as nuts, dried fruits, fresh fruits, vegetables, and grains is quite advantageous for maintaining the health. Dried fruits are rich in required nutrients for the body such ass vitamins, minerals and enzymes.

Almond is one of the popular and valuable nuts, with extensive properties for health, and physicians in the past even believed that consuming almonds help in increasing the brain capacity and thinking abilities, as well as long age. The other properties of almond are considered hereafter:

Almond has vast useful properties for the body. Moreover, almond can be consumed by various methods. In case almond is consumed raw, it can be considered a healthy snack. Furthermore, raw almond is used as the base material in almond butter, almond milk, and even in producing various body lotions and cosmetics.

Peanut is the name of a bush and its fruit with the scientific name of “Arachis hypogaea”. This plant is native of south America, taken from there to other parts of the world. Its bush is an annual one and has the height of 30-50 cm. warm climate is suitable for cultivating the native plant of Brazil. It has a straight stem with paired leaves, and its flowers are in two different types in yellow color, which after inoculation, their tails are bent and reach to the ground level. Then, they gradually embed in the soil, and its fruit is emerged in the soil.

Watermelon seeds are rich in protein. A glass of dried seeds contains 30.6 g of protein, supplying 61% of our daily requirement. The existing protein in watermelon seeds include some amino acids, one of which is arginine. Although the body produces some arginine, but according to Medline Plus Research Center, additional arginine can help many processes in the body and facilitate some of the physical problems. Some of the medical properties of arginine include: adjusting the blood pressure and treating coronary artery diseases.

Sunflower seeds have warm and dry temper. Some of the most important advantages of these valuable herbal seeds are as follows:
-Similar to pumpkin seeds, consuming sunflower seeds prevent the emergence of prostate cancer, especially its invading type in men, to a great extent.
-One of the properties of these seeds is reducing rheumatic pains.
-One of the most important materials in various types of seeds such as sunflower seeds is omega-3 fatty acids, being essential for brain, heart, and blood health as well as the health of other parts of the body.
-Sunflower seeds are rich in different vitamins, especially vitamin E, which is useful for the skin health and rejuvenating the skin. Consuming sunflower seeds, especially the non-roasted seeds protects skin against UV radiation and reduces wrinkles.
-Sunflower seeds contain lots of oil, vitamin A, vitamin D, and minerals, and consuming them is quite useful for the health of liver.
-Sunflower seeds contain a substance called phytosterol, which has a structure similar to cholesterol, and consuming the adequate amount of it helps in reducing the cholesterol and hence the cardiovascular diseases.
-One of the other properties of sunflower seeds is helping in treating diarrhea. For that purpose, place about 30 g of the seeds in water and cook slowly for about an hour. Then, sweeten it by sugar or candy and give it to the patient.
-Consuming sunflower seeds is useful for the home treatment of cold and relieving the resulted headaches. In this regard, place about 30 g of the seeds in two glasses of boiling water and let it boil until about half a glass of the water is remained. Have the boiled substance twice a day.

Peanut is the name of a bush and its fruit with the scientific name of “Arachis hypogaea”. This plant is native of south America, taken from there to other parts of the world. Its bush is an annual one and has the height of 30-50 cm. warm climate is suitable for cultivating the native plant of Brazil. It has a straight stem with paired leaves, and its flowers are in two different types in yellow color, which after inoculation, their tails are bent and reach to the ground level. Then, they gradually embed in the soil, and its fruit is emerged in the soil.

Studies show that the rate of bad cholesterol of blood reduces in the people, who consume nuts as a diet for their health. It is worth knowing that high rate of this type of cholesterol in the blood is one of the main reasons of cardiac diseases.

Also, by appropriate use of the kernels, blood coagulation is avoided and heart attacks can be presented.

Unsaturated fat: The reason for this point is not still known, but it is found that the existing useful fat in nuts reduces the bad cholesterol level in blood.

Omega-3 fatty acids: Many nuts have a proper rate of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 is among the useful fatty acids that helps heart health. This fatty acid is also found in other materials such as various fishes, but nuts are among the best herbal sources of that.

Fiber: All types of nuts possess great rates of fiber, which reduce the cholesterol. It also causes the sense of being full in the person, leading to having less amount of food. Consuming fiber is also effective in preventing diabetes.

Vitamin E: The researchers are not still sure about it, but they think the vitamin E can control and stop the growth and increasing plaques in the arteries in narrowing them and hence chest pain and heart attacks.

Sunflower seeds have warm and dry temper. Some of the most important advantages of these valuable herbal seeds are as follows:
-Similar to pumpkin seeds, consuming sunflower seeds prevent the emergence of prostate cancer, especially its invading type in men, to a great extent.
-One of the properties of these seeds is reducing rheumatic pains.
-One of the most important materials in various types of seeds such as sunflower seeds is omega-3 fatty acids, being essential for brain, heart, and blood health as well as the health of other parts of the body.
-Sunflower seeds are rich in different vitamins, especially vitamin E, which is useful for the skin health and rejuvenating the skin. Consuming sunflower seeds, especially the non-roasted seeds protects skin against UV radiation and reduces wrinkles.
-Sunflower seeds contain lots of oil, vitamin A, vitamin D, and minerals, and consuming them is quite useful for the health of liver.
-Sunflower seeds contain a substance called phytosterol, which has a structure similar to cholesterol, and consuming the adequate amount of it helps in reducing the cholesterol and hence the cardiovascular diseases.
-One of the other properties of sunflower seeds is helping in treating diarrhea. For that purpose, place about 30 g of the seeds in water and cook slowly for about an hour. Then, sweeten it by sugar or candy and give it to the patient.
-Consuming sunflower seeds is useful for the home treatment of cold and relieving the resulted headaches. In this regard, place about 30 g of the seeds in two glasses of boiling water and let it boil until about half a glass of the water is remained. Have the boiled substance twice a day.