Hazelnuts are a commonly eaten tree nut. Hazelnuts are perhaps best known for their high oil content, which comprises about 60 % of the total weight of the nut. This provides the consumer with a significant intake of energy. The oil content of the hazel nut however does vary considerably between harvests and can make up to 75 % of the weight of the nut. The high oil content of the nut provides hazelnuts with around 6.5 kcals per gram of fresh nut. Evidence suggests that consuming hazelnuts can significantly reduce detrimental lipid profiles in humans and may significantly increase the vitamin E content of the blood. Consumption of raw Turkish and Oregon hazelnuts has been shown to cause significant reductions in the generation of free radicals in cell culture experiments. The same research suggested that this was due to the very high antioxidant content of the nuts. The skin of the nuts was higher than the flesh of the nut, something which is consistently seen when investigating plant material for antioxidants.
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