1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,559 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: rain Stuff, Lauren bog Obam. Here. First things first, macadamia 3 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:14,880 Speaker 1: nuts are not actually nuts. Yes, I know, it's ridiculous. 4 00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:16,759 Speaker 1: It's right there in the name for goodness sake, but 5 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: much like brazil nuts. Again, what is it with these 6 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:23,560 Speaker 1: misleading names. The macadamia is in fact a seed, and 7 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 1: although they've become a signature staple of Hawaiian agriculture, macadamias 8 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:32,360 Speaker 1: are actually native to Australia. We spoke with Glenn Sacco, 9 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:35,559 Speaker 1: and economic development specialist with the Hawaii County Department of 10 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: Research and Development. He explained macadamia nuts are originally from Australia, 11 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:43,440 Speaker 1: but much of the early research, breeding work, and quality 12 00:00:43,479 --> 00:00:46,000 Speaker 1: development were done by the University of Hawaii on the 13 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:49,560 Speaker 1: island of Hawaii. These cultivars are suited for the Hawaii 14 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:52,040 Speaker 1: climate and do not produce the same high quality nut 15 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:57,640 Speaker 1: when grown in foreign conditions. Cultivars is short for cultivated varieties, 16 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,400 Speaker 1: and these are specific types of plays selected and cultivated 17 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:05,199 Speaker 1: by humans. In this case, the plant is a large 18 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 1: bushy tree that starts producing macademia nuts by the time 19 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:12,119 Speaker 1: it's about four or five years old, so how exactly 20 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:16,000 Speaker 1: did these Australian cultivars end up in Hawaii. For that, 21 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:18,960 Speaker 1: you can thank one William Purvis, who planted the first 22 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:23,120 Speaker 1: macademia tree on the Big Island in one Purvis didn't 23 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: initially intend for the tree seeds to be a hit. 24 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:28,960 Speaker 1: He planted the trees as wind breaks for the sugarcane fields. 25 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:32,520 Speaker 1: The plants were functional and also happened to be quite pretty, 26 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:35,520 Speaker 1: but he didn't suspect they could bear such delectable and 27 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 1: profitable seeds. About a decade later, one R. A. Jordan 28 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:43,960 Speaker 1: planted some macademia trees on Oahu, the trees that researchers 29 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 1: think is the ancestor of most of Hawaii's trees, and 30 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 1: the nut quickly became a popular snack among businessmen who 31 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 1: came to Hawaii to profit off of sugar plantations. In 32 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:57,480 Speaker 1: the early nineteen hundreds, the Hawaiian Agricultural Experiment Station was 33 00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: established to get new crops growing on the island. Since 34 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 1: this newly established United States territory was relying almost exclusively 35 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:07,720 Speaker 1: on sugar following the collapse of the coffee market in 36 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:10,560 Speaker 1: the nineteen twenties, the government offered a five year tax 37 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:13,480 Speaker 1: exemption on land that was used solely for macademia production, 38 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 1: but most farmers weren't interested. That is, until roasted macadamia 39 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 1: nuts started popping up in stores and consumers went wild. 40 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:24,960 Speaker 1: Demand for the nuts went up, and the number of 41 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:27,880 Speaker 1: trees planted for nut production more than doubled from nineteen 42 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: thirty two to nineteen thirty eight. Sales slumped a bit 43 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:33,960 Speaker 1: after that, but by the nineteen fifties, Hawaii was churning 44 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:37,080 Speaker 1: out macadaemia goodies to stack fans throughout the world, and 45 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:40,639 Speaker 1: major companies were making a pretty penny off of them. 46 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 1: Speaking of why are macadamia is so expensive? While macadamia's 47 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 1: clearly have an interesting past and they taste heavenly coated 48 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:51,679 Speaker 1: in thick layers of chocolate, do they really merit their 49 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 1: often exorbitant price tag. After all, At around twenty five 50 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:58,240 Speaker 1: dollars a pound, they're considered the most expensive nuts in 51 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: the world, So what's the deal? A bunch of factors 52 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:04,359 Speaker 1: go into the price, but a lot of them come 53 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 1: down to the fact that macadamias can't be grown effectively 54 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 1: on the continental United States, and shipping them in from 55 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: Hawaii is costly, and growing things in Hawaii is costly 56 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:16,720 Speaker 1: to begin with, because it's a small archipelago that some 57 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 1: three thousand miles that's nearly five thousand kilometers away from 58 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: anything in Macadamius made the news for a seventeen percent 59 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: price increase, which Sacho attributed to Hawaii's fixed harvest acreage 60 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 1: and a higher global demand. Furthermore, a Sacho said, it 61 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:37,080 Speaker 1: takes seven years for a macadamia nut tree to produce 62 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:40,120 Speaker 1: a crop. Demand remains high and prices are up to 63 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: a dollar twenty per pound. Despite this, there's tremendous pressure 64 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:48,360 Speaker 1: on the industry. The agricultural labor shortage continues and that's 65 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 1: caused wages and benefit costs to increase. Invasive pests continue 66 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:56,680 Speaker 1: to affect the orchard health and production. The Hawaii land 67 00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: prices are so high that orchard expansion is too costly 68 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: and producers can't wait for seven years. Therefore, the production 69 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:09,640 Speaker 1: acreage remains steady despite the increased demand for the nuts. Okay, 70 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: so that explains the cost, But are they actually good 71 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:17,039 Speaker 1: for you? High fat foods used to be the most 72 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:20,600 Speaker 1: demonized of all kitchen staples, basically because of a very 73 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: effective and sort of insidious marketing campaign put out by 74 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:27,720 Speaker 1: the sugar industry, but thanks to current research and slightly 75 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:31,120 Speaker 1: less hysteric marketing hype, such things as nuts, oils, and 76 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 1: seeds are getting their due as healthy options. We also 77 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 1: spoke with registered dietitian at Danielle Burniture. She said macadamia 78 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:43,640 Speaker 1: nuts are high in mono unsaturated fats, low in net carbohydrates, 79 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:47,640 Speaker 1: and a good source of copper, manganese, and diamond. Mono 80 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,520 Speaker 1: Unsaturated fatty acids have been shown to lower L d 81 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:54,160 Speaker 1: L cholesterol levels the bad kind, especially when they're used 82 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:57,800 Speaker 1: in place of saturated fats and refined carbohydrates in one's diet. 83 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:01,039 Speaker 1: Net carbs are important to consider because it clues you 84 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:03,280 Speaker 1: in on how much fiber something contains in relation to 85 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:06,640 Speaker 1: the amount of total carbohydrates present. Having more fiber is 86 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:10,359 Speaker 1: crucial to gut health. Copper assists with iron absorption and 87 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:13,479 Speaker 1: transport in the body, while manganese and diamon are essential 88 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:18,160 Speaker 1: for carbohydrate metabolism. And while all of that sounds great, 89 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 1: we still live in a society that tends to obsess 90 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:24,440 Speaker 1: over numbers. So at two hundred and three calories and 91 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:27,360 Speaker 1: twenty one grams of fat per serving, a single serving 92 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 1: being just ten to twelve nut kernels, and that's just nuts, 93 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:34,480 Speaker 1: not nuts, dust and chocolate are macadamia is really a 94 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: wholesome snack. Burniture said. Although nuts are hiring calories, they're 95 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: also packed with fiber, heart healthy fats, protein, vitamins, and 96 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:47,400 Speaker 1: minerals essential to our diets. Having a small handful is 97 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:50,680 Speaker 1: a filling and nutritious snack to tied you over between meals, 98 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:52,200 Speaker 1: or it can be used as a way to round 99 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:54,919 Speaker 1: out a meal on top of a salad or yogurt bowl. 100 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:59,000 Speaker 1: They are a particularly good substitute for packaged ultra processed 101 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:02,560 Speaker 1: snacks like potato chips. Calorie for calorie, an ounce of 102 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:05,360 Speaker 1: chips and ounce of nuts are equivalent, but the protein 103 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:07,680 Speaker 1: and fiber in the nuts will keep you energized, full 104 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: and focused. She said. Don't fear fats. They're essential for 105 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: hormone health, optimal brain function, and absorption of many nutrients. 106 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:21,080 Speaker 1: And according to Sacho, macadamia's aren't just a delicious treat 107 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:24,080 Speaker 1: for humans, they can be healthy snacks for rodents too. 108 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: He said. Some pet rat owners buy the nuts in 109 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:29,120 Speaker 1: the shell to give to the rats to gnaw on. 110 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: This helps wear down the rats teeth Today's episode was 111 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:40,400 Speaker 1: written by Michelle Konstantinovski and produced by Tyler Clay. Brain 112 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:42,679 Speaker 1: Stuff is a production of I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. 113 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 1: For more and this months of other nutritious topics, visit 114 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 1: our home planet, how stuff Works dot com. And for 115 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio visit they are heart 116 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:52,480 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 117 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:53,159 Speaker 1: favorite shows.