✦ World's richest selenium source ✦ 1-2 nuts = daily selenium ✦ Magnesium and copper ✦ Zinc and vitamin E

Raw Brazil nuts are the richest dietary source of selenium available, with a single nut providing a full day's requirement or more depending on growing soil. They also provide magnesium, copper, phosphorus, zinc, and vitamin E. This entry reflects the USDA format for the same nutrient-rich food as entry 104.

🍳
Preparation note

Limit to 1-2 nuts per day for selenium; very high regular intake causes selenosis (hair loss, nail brittleness, nausea). Store in the fridge to prevent rancidity of their polyunsaturated fats.

Sources: NIH ODS Selenium · CoFID 2021

Macronutrients per 100g

664
kcal
Energy
15.0
g
Protein
15.7
g
Carbs
4.19
g
Fibre
57.4
g
Fat
0.00
g
Salt

How to read GI & GL

GI (Glycemic Index) rates how fast the carbohydrates in a food raise blood glucose compared to pure glucose (= 100). Low GI ≤ 55 means a slow, steady rise. But GI says nothing about how much carbohydrate you're actually eating.

GL (Glycemic Load) fixes that. It multiplies GI by the actual grams of carbohydrate per typical serving: GL = GI × carbs per serving ÷ 100. This makes it the more useful number for real-world blood sugar management.

Why they can disagree — a food with low GI can still carry a high GL if the serving is large and carb-dense. Conversely, watermelon has a high GI (72) but a low GL (4) because a normal portion contains very few carbs. Always read both together.

Low GL ≤ 10 Modest total glucose impact per serving.
Medium GL 11–19 Moderate impact — manageable for most.
High GL ≥ 20 Significant carb load per serving. Consider a smaller portion.

Source: Atkinson et al., International Tables of GI & GL Values 2021, Am J Clin Nutr.

Glycemic Index & Load

24
GI Score
🟢 Low GI
1
GL / Serving
Low Load

Low GI food — causes a slow, steady rise in blood sugar. Ideal for sustained energy, blood glucose control, and reducing insulin demand.

Glycemic Load (GL = GI × carbs ÷ 100) accounts for portion size. A low GL means this food has minimal real-world blood sugar impact.

Source: Atkinson et al., International Tables of GI & GL Values 2021, Am J Clin Nutr

Vitamins & Minerals

Nutrient Per 100g % Daily Value* Level
Phosphorus 707 mg 101%
Potassium 593 mg 30%
Magnesium 351 mg 94%
Selenium 280 µg 510%
Calcium 168 mg 21%
Zinc 3.82 mg 38%
Iron 2.47 mg 18%
Copper 1.74 mg 174%
Manganese 1.26 mg 63%

* % Daily Value is the proportion of an adult EU Nutrient Reference Value (NRV) supplied by 100g of this food. NRVs are the labelling standard — the same basis as the “%RI” figures printed on food packaging — so these percentages are directly comparable with a shop label. They are a single adult figure and do not vary by age or sex, which is why they sometimes differ from UK dietary reference values: the NRV for vitamin C is 80mg where the UK RNI is 40mg. When Nutriofia assesses your own intake in the reports and trackers, it uses the age- and sex-specific UK values instead.

Fibre is shown without a percentage. Our fibre values use the UK Englyst NSP method, while the published 30g daily goal is an AOAC figure — the two are measured differently and a single percentage would mislead. How we source and normalise our data →

Sources: NIH ODS Selenium; CoFID 2021
Nuts & Seeds Tree Nuts Phytochemical data available High protein 🇺🇸 USDA FDC 2025