don’t go nuts
February 19, 2012I’m not a fan of nuts. I started out a bit of a nut eater, used to love my handful of raw almonds or home-made almond milk, thinking I was doing myself good. I’ve found that they would disturb my gut if I ate more than just a few, even if I diligently pre-soaked and dehydrated them, due to their abundance of starch as well as their anti-nutrients. After further research over the years, and learning more about fatty acids, I definitely do not view them in some therapeutic way like so many seem to. I don’t class them as a “health food” … or even as “food” for that matter, not for humans anyway.
Phytic acid is the storage form of phosphorus found in many plants, especially in nuts and seeds, and also in the bran or hull of grains. Although herbivores like cows and sheep can digest phytic acid, humans can’t. This is bad news because phytic acid strongly inhibits mineral absorption in adults – especially iron and zinc. Studies suggest that we absorb approximately 20 percent more zinc and 60 percent more magnesium from our food when phytic acid is absent.Examples of foods that contain high levels of phytic acid and other damaging anti-nutrients:
- pytates – found in grains, nuts, seeds, legumes
- oxalates – found in beans, rhubarb, spinach
- saponins (punch holes in your microvilli contributing to leaky gut) – found in quinoa, chickpeas, alfalfa, oats
- lectins – found in soy, kidney beans, nuts and grains
- enzyme inhibitors – like protease inhibitors found in soy, grains, nuts, Nightshade vegetables
With one of the best and clearest diagrammatic and anatomical comparisons of the digestive tract of humans compared to other animals, Lierre Keith in her book ‘The Vegetarian Myth’ (a must-read) puts it so well:
“Some animals are clearly adapted to grain consumption. Birds, rodents, and some insects can deal with the anti-nutrients. Humans, however, cannot. Perhaps if grains represented a significant portion of our ancestral dietary history, things might be a bit different. Many of us can digest dairy, and we’ve got the amylase enzyme present in our saliva to break down starches if need be, but we simply do not have the wiring necessary to mitigate the harmful effects of lectins, gluten, and phytate.”
“Bird and rodent food”? Hmmm, no thank you. Eat food that is digestible by humans!
Of plant foods, ripened fruits and well-cooked roots and tubers, as well as being high in nutrient concentration, contain the least toxic anti-metabolic and anti-nutrients substances of all plant foods. Note: The highest concentration of plant toxins are in its seeds, and the least (or none) are in its fruit and roots.
And aside from these natural toxins (so even after nuts etc. have been soaked / sprouted / ‘activated‘) grains, seeds, nuts and legumes, are incomplete and negligible in their amino acid profile (making them a useless source of protein), high in starch and high in volatile, oxidative polyunsaturated fats. Not efficient, functional or nutritious by any means. And as you learn more about the dangers of these polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), you’ll come to see more reason why nuts (those little ‘pufa bombs’) should be avoided.
“Even brief exposures to polyunsaturated fatty acids can damage the insulin-secreting cells of the pancreas, and the mitochondria in which oxidative energy production takes place. Prolonged exposure causes progressive damage. Acutely, the free polyunsaturated fatty acids cause capillary permeability to increase, and this can be detected at the beginning of “insulin resistance” or “diabetes.” After chronic exposure, the leakiness increases and albumin occurs in the urine, as proteins leak out of the blood vessels. The retina and brain and other organs are damaged by the leaking capillaries.” - Ray Peat PhD
So “nut-gut” not only has implications in hypothyroidism, leaky-gut, food allergies, intestinal and systemic inflammation, but diabetes too it appears.
As for almond milk and other nut milks: they’re super concentrated in PUFAs, phytates etc. As well, these faux milks typically contain solvents to break down the nuts to this liquid consistency, as well as additives, perfumes, additional vegetable oils, and other nasties such as Carrageenan (used as a thickening agent) which is highly immune-suppressive, allergenic and debilitates liver function (look our for additives listed as E407 or E407a, gums or guar gum).
A note too on the cocoa bean; don’t waste your money on recently fashionable “raw” cocoa / cacao or chocolate; like all other nuts and beans, the cocoa bean contains high levels of phytates and needs the fermentation and roasting process to lessen these. Historically, chocolate has always gone through these processes … mainly to develop and improve its flavour, but flavour is an indicator of nutrition also. And the reason I’d attest to consuming a bit of properly fermented and roasted cocoa bean (aka. chocolate) as opposed to other nuts (even if soaked, fermented etc) is that the fat component of the cocoa bean (cocoa butter) is highly saturated, as are all tropical fats. These are the safe and protective fats. By the time you’ve dealt with the anti-nutrients in an almond or walnut, those very delicate fats they contain quickly oxidise with exposure to light, oxygen and warmth, meaning rancid fat that will deplete your antioxidant stores and age your cells.
If / when you do still choose to consume nuts, here are my tips:
- See them as an occasional addition to a meal, to add flavour and interest to a fruit salad maybe, not as a daily staple; definitely not in the quantities and frequency of those who concoct and mindlessly over-eat nut-based treats, cashew-nut “raw” vegan desserts or as a replacement for dairy milk (as if it’s nutrient profile of a nut ‘milk’ even remotely resembles that of real milk).
- Choose fresh macadamia nuts; they are unique compared to other nuts. Their fatty acid profile is more similar to olive oil (mostly mono-unsaturated therefore less prone to rancidity, oxidation and free-radical formation) and they naturally contain lower levels of phytates. Eat a small amount (no more than say 8 on any day) raw or freshly roasted (yourself) with sea salt and a piece of fresh fruit. But that’s still only if you have no G.I., thyroid, hormone or weight issues.
- Did you realise that cashews and peanuts are actually technically legumes? Legumes should never be eaten raw (literally indigestible) and don’t bother soaking them (will only harbour mould); they need to be roasted to break down their high starch content and lessen their protease-inhibitors (that stress the kidneys). A small handful of toasted cashews on your curry or a little roasted peanut butter (make sure it contains NO additional vegetable oils) to dip their carrot sticks into, can be tolerated occasionally by those few with robust, optimally-functioning digestive systems, if they get the urge. Note: especially for women, these and all other legumes are best avoided completely due to their estrogenic qualities and anti-thyroid nutrients.
- Read ingredients carefully in “gluten-free” products. Often grain flour in cakes, biscuits etc can be replaced by almond meal, soy flour etc.
- A reminder to diligently avoid all nut and seed-derived “vegetable oils”. These are the real offenders. And don’t for one moment believe “The Plant Seed Promise“. Good lord. Read this first, and dig even deeper into the scientific research behind it. Coconut oil, butter and a little cold-pressed extra-virgin coconut oil should be the only fats you add to your food.
Further reading:
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/vegetables.shtml
13 Responses to “don’t go nuts”
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Thanks so much Emma – I really look forward to reading your posts. I’m so confused though -I thought oats and quinoa were ok to eat provided you soak first? And spinach?
Hi Ruby; it’s always person-specific. With a powerfully-healthy (asymptomatic) digestive system, a small amount of soaked and well-cooked grain can be OK. Still not great ‘food’ though. Rice is the least problematic. Quinoa contains potentially-harmful saponins that can remain in significant amounts even after 24 hours of soaking. Oats too can be troublesome if over-done or if your gut’s already inflamed. And even if their anti-nutritients were completely removed, what you’re left with is pretty much mostly starch; which in itself is hard for most people to digest and more insulin-triggering than other carbohydrates. If they don’t seem to cause you problems, you’d be OK to have them occasionally in small amounts (balanced by complete proteins and natural fat), but don’t use them as a mainstay or kid yourself that they can ‘contribute’ to making you healthier. Spinach, truthfully, for it’s nutrients, specifically folate, you’re best cooking it to death and sipping on its broth. Read the link to the article at the end of my post: it will be confronting and challenging on first read but read it over and over. And consider too that we don’t produce cellulase, the enzyme that digests cellulose … another consideration when talking about things like spinach which not only contains things like oxalates, but also dense cellulose.
Hey Emma,
You will be glad to hear I have stopped eating all of those nuts and am now back into my good eggs and whole milk! (they taste so much better anyway haha)
I meet with David from the Canadian Way the other day and stocked up on some of the wild salmon…..dam its good I don’t think I can go back to framed!
I do love my oats every morning they seem to give me the energy to get thru til lunch time lately I have been soaking them in the fridge over night in priobiotic yoghourt and whole milk which I guess makes it better? What what be an alternative for breakfast to give me that Carbohydrate energy I seem to need especially I train at the gym?
Looking forward to Thursday
Hi Simon,
Soaking your oats does help, but still it’s a lot of starch (we’ll go through the differences in carbohydrates in detail Thursday!) Maybe alternate: don’t do oats everyday. Your best choice for carbohydrates: well-ripened fruits and fresh orange juice; also milk. Stewed apple is delicious and keeps well too (stewed apple is better than raw due to the pectin). Looking forward to meeting you too!
Great post Emma, I was wondering where you’d gotten to! I swear everyone thinks nuts are so dang healthy…! I’m posting this on my college nutrition class page on fb, they should have a read.
Oh no…. I didn’t know that about rhubarb being high in oxalates?! I just posted a recipe for rhubarb on my blog, eek! At least it was with raw pastured cream and butter… !
Love reading your articles, I always learn so much.
Kate
Hi Emma
Wow this post couldn’t have come at a better time; I have been wondering about nuts and seeds as I found myself consuming them too often in some form or another: whole, nut butters, nut milks etc. Before experimenting with the raw diet I never ate them! They were never a food that appealed to me. A little voice in my head kept saying something doesn’t feel right so I decided to give them up and then this lands in my Inbox!
Let’s not forget too how expensive it is too keep buying nuts! So I’m happy on all fronts to give this up, I cant go past my goats milk to be honest.
What about juicing spinach with other leafy greens…? Does that help break down the oxalates?
If a food like grains has so many anti nutrients wouldn’t I feel it? I never have adverse reactions to quinoa.
And sprouted spelt (or rye, wheat etc) bread? I forget the name but there’s a sprouted bread company, stored in the fridge section of some health food stores I buy, are these bad to consume? I’m thinking for sure you’re going to say stay away from bread too! I’ve heard how bad bread is but thought this one was ok?
When you said “…aka chocolate” do you include in this the typic chocolate most people refer to as chocolate ie lindt, cadburys, etc ? (with the raw cacao chocolate products)
Thanks for this post; I too really enjoy reading your information.
Geraldine: Don’t bother with juicing your spinach; the only way to nix the oxalic acid is to cook it to death. As with all things, I look at appropriate foods for the individual, so don’t want to generalise too much … but in saying that, I’ve found that most women do best to avoid grains completely (regardless of whether they’re whole, refined, soaked, sprouted, leavened…) Starch is a problem for insulin, unnecessary weight retention, and the other compounds they contain exacerbate estrogen, down-regulate thyroid and trigger inflammation and auto-immunity. So regardless of immediate digestive reactions, they may be contributing to other issues at a deeper level. To really know how these foods might be affecting you specifically, I work with clients to teach them how to gauge how foods support/damage their metabolism – understanding how to read body temperature and pulse is particularly important and fascinating.
In regards to chocolate, just look for brands that contain minimal, simple, traditional ingredients: cocoa mass, cocoa butter, cane sugar, maybe vanilla … but never soy lecithin! Lindt is a goodie. So too is Cocolo and Haig’s … read ingredients and you’ll find others too.
Love this entry Emma, I feel so great that I am not missing out on anything with my allergies to Nuts, seeds and chickpeas!
Viv
Thanks for this Emma
I’m even more engrossed in all this stuff than last time you heard from me – have read heaps of Chris Kresser’s articles in the last week. Will get onto Ray Peat soon too… and I still need to get to the Vegetarian Myth, I’m still eating vegetarian. The question that keeps coming up in my mind it – is it possible to get all that you need from whole diary and eggs only and no flesh??
One other question re the oats – what are the best ones to buy and where can I find them? I definitely get that I need to phase them out but think I need to do it slowly as its what I’ve always had in the morning!
KateX
Kate C: it is possible to get the majority of your minerals and protein from high quality dairy and eggs; you can get away without red meat if you’re doing everything else right – but then of course it depends on other signs of what your body might not be absorbing … if you can fathom it, wild white fish and shellfish definitely makes the difference, and bone broth and/or gelatin (not technically flesh!) Oats: just plain old oats I guess: do all the right things: soak them over-night at least and cook very well. Must eat with fat. x
Where do you suggest a person gets their Vitamin-E from, now, if not from nuts? The only “other” source is palm oil, which is not really practical…and although butter does contain some, the amount is probably not high enough, right? (The only sources of information I have found [three], show that Vitamin-E in butter is 3>9mg per 100g. Around 3mg is far too low for nutritional requirements on a day-to-day basis; 9mg is just ok, but definitely not the best source…and that’s 100g of butter…good luck even eating that amount every day.)
Zoi: The requirement for Vit E decreases with as the consumption of PUFAs decreases. The requirement (if any) is minuscule if you reduce our intake of these fats significantly. If you don’t consume the ‘oxidant’ in the first place, you don’t need the ‘anti-oxidant’.
Thanks Emma!