But, here are some facts for you about the trees that do produce the brazil nut.
The Brazil nut is native to the Guianas, Venezuela, Brazil, eastern Colombia, eastern Peru, and eastern Bolivia. It occurs as scattered trees in large forests on the banks of the Amazon River, Rio Negro, Tapajós, and the Orinoco.
The fruit is heavy and rigid; when the fruits fall, they pose a serious threat to vehicles and potential for traumatic brain injury of people passing under the tree.
The Brazil nut is a large tree, reaching 160 ft tall, and with a trunk 3 to 7 ft. in diameter, making it among the largest of trees in the Amazon rainforest. It may live for 500 years or more, and can often reach a thousand years of age. The stem is straight and commonly without branches for well over half the tree's height, with a large, emergent crown of long branches above the surrounding canopy of other trees.
The Brazil nut fruit and its nutshell containing the edible Brazil nut – are relatively large, possibly weighing as much as 4.4 lb. in total weight. As food, Brazil nuts are notable for diverse content of micronutrients, especially a high amount of selenium. The wood of the Brazil nut tree is prized for its quality in carpentry, flooring, and heavy construction.
In 2003, the European Union imposed strict regulations on the import of Brazilian-harvested Brazil nuts in their shells, as the shells are considered to contain unsafe levels of aflatoxins, a potential cause of liver cancer.
Brazil nuts are susceptible to contamination by aflatoxins, produced by fungi, once they fall to the ground. Aflatoxins can cause liver damage, including possible cancer, if consumed. Aflatoxin levels have been found in Brazil nuts during inspections that were far higher than the limits set by the EU. However, mechanical sorting and drying was found to eliminate 98% of aflatoxins; a 2003 EU ban on importation was rescinded after new tolerance levels were set.
The nuts often contain radium, a radioactive element, with a kilogram of nuts containing an activity between 40 and 260 becquerels (1 and 7 nanocuries). This level of radium is small, although it can be about 1,000 times higher than in other common foods. According to Oak Ridge Associated Universities, "the very extensive root system of the tree" can concentrate naturally occurring radioactive material, when present in the soil. Radium can be concentrated in nuts only if it is present in the soil.
Brazil nuts also contain barium, bug the amount present in Brazil nuts are orders of magnitude too small to have noticeable health effects.
Brazil nut oil is used as a lubricant in clocks, in the manufacturing of paint and cosmetics, such as soap and perfume. Because of its hardness, the Brazil nutshell is often pulverized and used as an abrasive to polish materials, such as metals and ceramics, in the same way as a jeweler's rouge. The charcoal from the nut shells may be used to purify water.
And, get this: 3 Brazil nuts are 99 calories!
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