Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2011 Dec;14(12A):2296-301.
doi: 10.1017/S1368980011002540.

Mediterranean nuts: origins, ancient medicinal benefits and symbolism

Patricia Casas-Agustench  1 , Albert Salas-Huetos, Jordi Salas-Salvadó
Affiliations
Review

Mediterranean nuts: origins, ancient medicinal benefits and symbolism

Patricia Casas-Agustench et al. Public Health Nutr. 2011 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: To consider historical aspects of nuts in relation to origin and distribution, attributed medicinal benefits, symbolism, legends and superstitions.

Design: Review of historical aspects of nuts.

Setting: Mediterranean region.

Subjects: The varieties reviewed include almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts and pistachios.

Results and conclusions: Like other foods, nuts have a wide variety of cultural connections to the areas where they grow and to the people who live there or eat them. History, symbolism and legends reveal the ancient tradition of nuts and how they are related to the lives of our ancestors. Archaeological excavations in eastern Turkey have uncovered the existence of a non-migratory society whose economy centred on harvesting nuts. This shows that nuts have been a staple in the human diet since the beginnings of history. Moreover, since ancient times nuts have been used for their medicinal properties. They also play a role in many old legends and traditions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

LinkOut - more resources