9 replies to this topic

[TheFountain]

Just curious about this. I was looking back at some old posts (not that old actually). And I saw a few people claiming that they stay away from nuts because most nuts are "mostly PUFA".

As someone who eats a lot of nuts. Cashews, Almonds, Macadamia, walnuts and even peanuts from time to time I have studied the fat ratios for all of them. And with the exception of walnuts I don't really see a trend of most nuts being higher in poly than in mono. Most nuts seem to be considerably higher in mono in fact. By considerable I mean about twice or almost twice as much.

As stated before walnuts is the only exception I can think of. Brazil nuts even have more mono than poly. Cashews are like a dietary staple to me and I think their fatty acid ratio is extremely healthy (almost identical to olive oil). I even splurge on peanuts from time to time. Not claiming anything about peanuts being healthy but again, they have almost twice as much mono as poly.

How did the myth begin that nuts are mainly PUFA?

[sthira]

Thanks for a reminder to eat more cashews, somehow I'd forgotten them. Cashews are delicious, and like you note similar in ways to olive oil. I tend to limit Brazil nuts; their selenium content seems crazy high.

[TheFountain]

Thanks for a reminder to eat more cashews, somehow I'd forgotten them. Cashews are delicious, and like you note similar in ways to olive oil. I tend to limit Brazil nuts; their selenium content seems crazy high.

Me too. Of course when you start mixing a lot of nuts you can get a higher PUFA dose but I was a little perplexed at why people thought that most nuts are mostly PUFA.

[pamojja]

As someone who eats a lot of nuts. Cashews, Almonds, Macadamia, walnuts and even peanuts from time to time I have studied the fat ratios for all of them. And with the exception of walnuts I don't really see a trend of most nuts being higher in poly than in mono. Most nuts seem to be considerably higher in mono in fact. By considerable I mean about twice or almost twice as much.

Sure, nuts generally contain a lot more monos then polies. However, when I joined the TrackYourPlaque program for reducing arterial plaque and following their dietary recommendation of unlimited nuts (with some exceptions like peanuts) I indeed saw my daily mono-unsaturated fat intake rise a lot more: from 25 to 60 grams - while poly-unsaturated fats rose from 20 to 30 grams 'only'.

Now that's multiples times much more than the RDA. Therefore I suspect either you don't really eat a lot, or you never checked how nuts are easily able to contribute the biggest part of one's poly-unsaturated fat intake (if no vegetable oils other than EVOO is used).

So yes, it is a myth that nuts contain more poly than mono - but it's true that they contain the most polyunsaturated fat compared to any other other kind of healthy food.

Edited by pamojja, 02 July 2012 - 07:10 PM.

[TheFountain]

As someone who eats a lot of nuts. Cashews, Almonds, Macadamia, walnuts and even peanuts from time to time I have studied the fat ratios for all of them. And with the exception of walnuts I don't really see a trend of most nuts being higher in poly than in mono. Most nuts seem to be considerably higher in mono in fact. By considerable I mean about twice or almost twice as much.

Sure, nuts generally contain a lot more monos then polies. However, when I joined the TrackYourPlaque program for reducing arterial plaque and following their dietary recommendation of unlimited nuts (with some exceptions like peanuts) I indeed saw my daily mono-unsaturated fat intake rise a lot more: from 25 to 60 grams - while poly-unsaturated fats rose from 20 to 30 grams 'only'.

Now that's multiples times much more than the RDA. Therefore I suspect either you don't really eat a lot, or you never checked how nuts are easily able to contribute the biggest part of one's poly-unsaturated fat intake (if no vegetable oils other than EVOO is used).

Well I did not say nuts do not contribute to ones PUFA intake, that would be an absolutely silly assertion, but I felt it out of context to say they were "mostly PUFA".

If you stick with Cashews, Almonds and Macadamia nuts you should be okay with a couple servings a day in my opinion.

But there is also another context that gets ignored. That is, the *mostly* good things about nuts. Such as the mineral profile and the fact that many nuts are higher in antioxidants than people think. Given this context it is suitable to question whether or not these components help to offset the effect of the PUFAs.

I think MUFA is suppose to do that to some degree, but don't quote me. I might be disjointedly remembering something I read a while ago.

[mrd1]

one ounce of nuts a day may help reduce your risk of heart disease according to the FDA. If you down nuts like a day job it won't be healthy as with anything.

[DePaw]

Brazil nuts: 66% fat, 20.6% PUFA, PUFA = 31% of fatty acids.
Cashews: 43% fat, 7.8% PUFA, PUFA = 18% of fatty acids.
Almonds: 49% fat, 12.1% PUFA, PUFA = 25% of fatty acids.
Coconut: 33% fat, 0.4% PUFA, PUFA = 1% of fatty acids.
Macademia: 75% fat, 1.5% PUFA, PUFA = 2% of fatty acids.
Peanuts: 49% fat, 15.6% PUFA, PUFA = 32% of fatty acids.

Some are high, some are low.

[Gerrans]

But there is also another context that gets ignored. That is, the *mostly* good things about nuts. Such as the mineral profile and the fact that many nuts are higher in antioxidants than people think. Given this context it is suitable to question whether or not these components help to offset the effect of the PUFAs.

I am inclined to agree.

A ton of positive research has been done on nuts. Admittedly, a lot of it is financed by nut-producing interests, but still plenty of independent research backs up the consistent association of nut consumption with many measures of health, including improved mortality. I have ploughed through enough such research to set my mind at rest about the amount of polyunsaturates I absorb from my nut habit (one or two 25g snacks a day) or about any notional ideal ratio between Omega-6s and Omega-3s.

It seems to me that the case against polyunsaturates is never based on studies of nut consumption. Polyunsaturates have often been linked with oxidative damage in the body, and therefore nuts, which are rich in such oils, are associated by implication. When you read the anti-polyunsaturate theorising of people like Ray Peat and Danny Roddy, they tend to tar nuts with the same brush as cooking oils. But I do not think they can point to research in which nut consumption is directly linked to ill health caused by polyunsaturates.

We are often told how quickly polyunsaturates go off and how dangerous this is. But what strikes me when I look at my packs of nuts is how long they stay edible. They are among the slowest of all foods in my kitchen to perish. Even when they taste slightly stale, they are still far from rancid. I think this is because in nature nuts are designed to last a long time without rotting after they fall from the tree, since they need to survive through winter before the time comes to sprout. The matrix of nutrients in them keeps them intact, and so the various phytates, antinutrients, antioxidants, toxins, or whatever they contain prevent their polyunsaturated oils from oxidising. Therefore, even though rancid polyunsaturates are something to beware of in food, the virgin ones in whole nuts are likely nothing to be afraid of at all.

Edited by Gerrans, 02 December 2013 - 08:10 PM.

[aim1]

http://buzzingash.co...healthy-or-not/

[TheFountain]

By the way Macadamia nuts may not have much PUFA but they also don't have much of anything else that these other nuts contain (I.E mineral profile and nutrient density).