Seeds, as well as grains and nuts, are the essence of many flowering plants’ reproduction. They are the basis of biodiversity on this planet, and as such are necessary for the continued existence of our world. Seeds, grains, and nuts are powerful food reserves encased inside a protective hard exterior. When consumed instead of being left to grow into another plant, they provide a number of significant benefits for animal and bird diets, including that of the human.

Seeds, grains, and nuts can be grouped together; however, there are differences between them. As noted at the start, the seed is an underdeveloped plant. Grains are a type of seed, but these are now called grains to differentiate that they are farmed for human purposes. In contrast, a nut is actually a dried fruit which is encased by a hard shell. The exception to this understanding of the nut is the peanut. A peanut is botanically from the pea family, and thus is a legume.
There are a variety of species of seeds, grains, and nuts. These range in size from the double coconut, with its 50-centimeter girth (Ball, 2013), to the orchid seed. The latter makes it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the smallest of the seed family, at an astonishing 993 million seeds to every gram in weight. With over 40,000 different species of seeds, this book focuses on the ones that we are most likely to come across in our diets.

How Are They Beneficial for Humanity?

Seeds, grains, and nuts are a fundamental part of human history, dating back to prehistoric times. Containing calories and protein, seeds and nuts were easy to collect and store, making these an ideal substitute for meat when hunting was difficult. The contribution that these small foods made was significant, as they provided essential nutrition for our ancestors. Almonds have been found to have been a staple part of traditional diets in the Middle Ages. 

It is worth noting here that seeds, grains, and nuts are associated with having a high fat content. This is significant in terms of the type of fat that they provide compared to other high-fat foods which are seen as being bad for you. The difference is that seeds, nuts, and grains provide essential fatty acids. These come in the form of omega-3, omega-6, and omega-9. These fats are unsaturated fats and cannot, in relation to omega-3 and omega-6, be made by the body. As such, to have optimal health and a nutritional diet, we need to include seeds each day with what we eat.