I Am Going Nuts About Nuts Nutrition Part 2

July 14, 2010 by 33 Comments

nuts

Do you love nuts? In the primal world, they are mostly treated as a snack or as a topping to other foods. Many also enjoy using almond flour as a substitute for wheat flour. I have not yet purchased almond flour myself as I currently enjoy using Coconut Flour for Coconut Pancakes and a few other things. I talked about the 4 nuts that I believe are most healthy in part 1. Nuts are full of nutrition, but one has to be careful because of the omega 6 content.

In this post I will give you the low down on Cashews, Brazil Nuts, Walnuts and Pine Nuts.

How I Am Breaking It Down

I am now going to break it down, nut by nut, so you can find out why I believe these are the 4 nuts you should consume if you choose to eat nuts as a snack. For Polyunsaturated Fat, Omega 3 is listed first, then Omega 6 follows. These are both in grams. I will list the vitamins and minerals that have at least a 10% daily value for each nut.

All data is taken from Nutrition Data. You can learn more about each nut by clicking on the blue link associated with each nut. For correct information, change the serving size to 1 oz.

Brazil Nuts

  • 3 g Carbs, 4 g Protein, 19 g Fat
  • Amino Acid Score: 67
  • 6.9 g Monounsaturated Fat
  • 5.8 g Polyunsaturated Fat: .0051 vs 5.8
  • Vitamins: 12% Thiamin
  • Minerals: 27% Magnesium, 20% Phosphorus, 25% Copper, 17% Manganese, 774% Selenium (NOT a misprint)

Cashews

  • 9 g Carbs, 5 g Protein, 12 g Fat
  • Amino Acid Score: 100
  • 6.7 g Monounsaturated Fat
  • 2.2 g Polyunsaturated Fat: .017 vs 2.2
  • Vitamins: 12% Vitamin K
  • Minerals: 10% Iron, 20% Magnesium, 17% Phosphorus, 11% Zinc, 31% Copper, 23% Manganese

Walnuts

  • 4 g Carbs, 4 g Protein, 18 g Fat
  • Amino Acid Score: 55
  • 2.5 g Monounsaturated Fat
  • 13.2 g Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.5 vs 10.1
  • Vitamins: None are in the double digit percentage range
  • Minerals: 11% Magnesium, 10% Phosphorus, 22% Copper, 48% Manganese

Pine Nuts

  • 4 g Carbs, 4 g Protein, 19 g Fat
  • Amino Acid Score: 77
  • 5.3 g Monounsaturated Fat
  • 9.5 g Polyunsaturated Fat: .031 vs 9.4
  • Vitamins: 13% Vitamin E, 19% Vitamin K
  • 18% Magnesium, 16% Phosphorus, 12% Zinc, 19% Copper, 123% Manganese

Pecans

  • 4 g Carbs, 3 g Protein, 20 g Fat
  • Amino Acid Score: 61
  • 11.5 g Monounsaturated Fat
  • 6.1 g Polyunsaturated Fat: .28 vs 5.8
  • Vitamins: 12% Thiamin
  • Minerals: 17% Copper, 63% Manganese

Nut Conclusion

As you can see… walnuts and pine nuts both have over 10 grams of omega 6 fatty acids. This is NOT good… way too much. Walnuts seem to have the least amount of nutrition as well. I would say Cashews are the best out of this group as it is a complete protein, contains lots of minerals and is low in omega 6 fatty acids.

Go back to part 1 and view the information on pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts, and macadamia nuts. I personally believe that these 4 along with Cashews are the top 5 most nutritious nuts to consume. I personally enjoy almonds and macadamia nuts the most and I could pick those 2 to be the healthiest as well. Eat the others if you wish, but not as much as the other 5.

After the discussion on the 8 most common nuts, what do you feel is the most nutritious? Will you now eat more or less nuts and which ones will you avoid and/or add to your diet?

This post has been entered in Real Food Wednesday.

Flickr Photo by The Pocket

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Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With:
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About Toad

Is my name Todd or Toad? I'm a world traveler seeking true wellness. I'm not a fan of labels but the following describe me best: minimalist, foodie, entrepreneur, adventurer, writer, cook.

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  • http://pullupsandpaleo.wordpress.com/ Brooke

    Thanks for posting all the info on these nuts… I’ve been eating a lot of walnuts, and I think I might switch that up. Looks like I need to go pick up some pistachios and brazil nuts! Oh and since hazelnuts are fine, that means nutella is primal…. right?! ;)

    • http://primaltoad.com Toad

      Yea, I used to eat a lot of walnuts too since my parents by them. But at 10 grams of omega 6 for 1 oz… its just too much. I will just eat them once in a while… maybe once a month? Lol.

      I have NO IDEA what nutella is… lol. What is it?

      • Mike

        Whoa@! NO idea, only one of the tastiest things on the planet! It is essentially almond/chocolate butter. So good. Lots of sugar, but soooo tasty!

        • http://primaltoad.com Toad

          Well, if its got ADDED sugar, which it obviously does, then it is NOT primal. Why not just buy 100% cacao powder and mix it in with almond butter? Now that would be awesome!

          Or, make a smoothie with almond butter, cacao powder and maybe 1/2 banana? Ok, I am trying just that!

      • Ben
        • http://primaltoad.com Toad

          Ah, not at all. I have seen this at my health food store! Best to just make your own. Simply buy almond butter (or make your own) and add cacao powder. Or like I said before and I will repeat again because I will be trying this combination for a smoothie…

          1 Tbsp. Almond Butter
          1 Tbsp. Cacao Powder
          1/2 Banana

          This sounds so amazing you have no idea!!

          • Ben

            That does sound good! You should write a post for that recipe. I’m interested in how it turns out!

          • http://primaltoad.com Toad

            I will write a post in about 2 weeks with 3-5 smoothie recipes. Does that sound better?

  • http://lessofmimi.wordpress.com Melissa Fritcher

    I usually go for taste with major consideration for carb count/fiber. I adore nuts, and seeds, but the carbs add up quickly – and I’m still trying to stay under 20 total grams per day. I also have to be careful as they can stall my weight loss, even if I stay under carbs. I’m careful about getting unsalted, and then I EVOO them up w/ sea salt so I can enjoy w/o worrying about my blood pressure.
    All that being said – my favorite nuts are marcona almonds (all time favorite), regular almonds, cashews, pistachios, and pine nuts (lurv pesto), oh and hazelnuts.
    A perfect world would be one in which I could eat unlimited nuts & seeds with impunity.
    BTW – Nutella has crap in it – trans fats or HFCS, I can’t remember. Cost Plus has a brand that doesn’t, or didn’t last time I looked. It’s still sugar, but it’s better than the negative health-impact of the stuff in Nutella (unless they’ve changed their formula in the last 2 years since I’ve looked at a jar). You can also make it yourself w/ dark chocolate and toasted hazelnuts. Google a recipe. Something I may just have to try soon. I used to eat Nutella like it was candy.. oh, wait…

    • http://primaltoad.com Toad

      Yes, they can stall weight loss pretty easily. I am going to have to try marcona almonds soon! I hope I remember them down the road.

      Oh and yes! Pine nuts are perfect for pesto ;) I think marks pesto recipe calls for pine nuts in his primal blueprint cookbook.

  • http://www.nuttykitchen.com Henry

    Toad – Thanks for these posts on nuts. As you can imagine we are also “nuts over nuts” over at NuttyKitchen. I’ve found that as we’ve gotten more and more into Paleo eating that we consume fewer nuts, nut butter, and almond meal then we did when first started to eliminate grains and processed foods.

    One word of caution, is that the “Nutrition Data” website has some inaccurate data on food. I was surprised to hear this as we used them often (and still do) but now I take what I read with a grain of salt. I believe it was Robb Wolf that first pointed this out on one of his podcasts.

    • http://primaltoad.com Toad

      Inaccurate data? Well, how is one supposed to know if its correct or incorrect? I just love them over fitday for looking up one or two food items because they have that omega 3 and omega 6 content and I like the layout of it. FitDay is great for keeping track of calories and nutrient information. Do you know what foods are incorrect and are they way off?

  • http://www.primaljournal.com JP@PrimalJournal

    Cashews are great. They are my favourite nuts out of this group and probably a top 3 overall.

    • http://primaltoad.com Toad

      Yes, they are. A complete protein and have a low 06 content compared to the other 3 nuts in this group.

  • http://www.pantrybites.com Janet (Pantry Bites)

    I’ve definitely been cutting back on my nut intake and like you focusing more on the coconut flour precisely because of the omega 6 intake associated with nuts.

    I still love my almond flour- coconut flour just doesn’t work in some recipes.

    • http://primaltoad.com Toad

      I have never tried almond flour before and I am not sure when. I just like nuts as a convenient snack. I have been snacking less and less. But, when the time is right nuts are great for it. But eating them daily is not necessary. One can still eat 1 oz. per day and be just fine (if they arent from this group except for the cashews) but I will just eat them when convenient.

      Yea, I have heard that coconut flour does not work in some recipes. I will probably buy almond flour in the future, not sure when.

  • http://www.nuttykitchen.com Henry

    Toad – I don’t know just how “inaccurate” the data on the nutritiondata.com site is. But take a listen to Episode 22 of this Robb Wolf podcast, skip to 46:55. “Great teaching tool for illustrating the bias… for low fat, grains, grains…” http://robbwolf.com/2010/04/06/the-paleolithic-solution-episode-22/

    • http://primaltoad.com Toad

      Thanks for the link! I will listen to it tonight.

  • http://www.therightfit.wordpress.com Carla

    I’m going right now to the cupboard to get some nuts! I eat an unsalted dry roasted mix of brazil, cashews, almonds, and walnuts almost every day. They make me feel full and satisfied and healthy! I am going to have to add some of those other ones you mentioned and let you know how I like them!

    • http://primaltoad.com Toad

      I wish I had a thing of unsalted, roasted mixed nuts!

      Oh, you will LOVE macadamias and/or pistachios if you have never had them before.

  • http://paleodiet.com/definition.htm Don Wiss

    (1) Except this page touts walnuts as an excellent source of Omega 3s:
    http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=99
    Most places recommend eating walnuts. I wouldn’t take them out of one’s diet based on your chemical analysis above. Remember our paleo ancestors didn’t do chemical analysis. Was it readily available and edible? And following optimal foraging theory easy to obtain?

    (2) Cashews are paleo questionable. The raw crowd claims they aren’t edible raw, and ones sold raw aren’t really raw. Then they are not actually a nut, but the seed of a fruit. Fruit seeds are not supposed to be digested, but to pass through and still be viable. They would never have been a food.

    (3) Pine nuts are also not a nut, but the seed of a pine tree. I do consider them paleo.

    • http://primaltoad.com Toad

      Walnuts may have a lot of omega 3′s but the omega 6 content is way to high. I know our ancestors did NOT do chemical analysis. That is because they were not able to. As shown from my previous posts, I don’t normally do this. But I enjoy the conveniences of the modern life.

      Did our ancestors have a computer? Refrigerator? Mattress? Couch? Chair? Car? Plane?

      No, no, no, no, no, and no. Do YOU use all 7? I would assume so.

      I live the primal lifestyle. I am not a caveman – they are different.

      I now understand that cashews are labeled as a legume to some. Well, they aren’t on my top 4 list. Pine nuts aren’t a nut you say? I just wonder how many things label themselves as something that they really arent. I say it doesn’t matter. Its a food. I say the omega 6 content is too high to eat on a regular basis. Everyone else can draw there own conclusions.

  • http://jeromie-sacrifice.blogspot.com Jeromie

    Gotta say that I think walnuts may actually have some health despite being low in vitamins and fairly high in Omega 6: http://donmatesz.blogspot.com/2010/03/paleo-diet-basics-why-i-eat-walnuts.html

    • http://primaltoad.com Toad

      I agree, they do provide health benefits. But, as shown across the board, the top 4 nuts I recommend have MORE micronutrients, are in some cases a COMPLETE PROTEIN, have more MONOUNSATURATED FATS, etc. I did dismiss walnuts mainly because of the high omega 6 content, but they also lack other nutrients that other nuts are loaded in. There is NOT A SINGLE VITAMIN IN WALNUTS THAT ARE 10% OR HIGHER… if I remember correctly, that is the only nut where this is the case.

      So, I am dismissing walnuts for many reasons. And, they are fine to eat. But, if someone is going to eat say 2 oz. of walnuts per day… it might not be a great idea to make them all walnuts. I hope I cleared this up.

  • Andrew

    Hi there,

    This post gave me an idea on some nutritional information that I’ve been searching for online. Thanks for sharing!

    I wanted to comment on something, though. I noticed you’re avoiding too much Omega-6. I think that’s a great idea. However, from both my research (and experience playing around with my own diet), what is of primary significance with omega-6 intake is the amount RELATIVE to omega-3 intake. The conventional recommendation — which I don’t necessarily agree with, but nonetheless… — is between a 1:1 and 1:4 ratio of omega-3 -to- omega-6 intake. According to the stats you gave, the only nut that really fits this (well, nearly) is the walnut (a ratio of 1:4.04). So, I’d say that avoiding walnuts because of their omega-6 content is maybe not looking at the bigger picture. Their omega-6 content, relative to their omega-3 content, seems impressive, to me.

    I understand that you might be avoiding much omega-6 for specific reasons, but they’re my thoughts, for what it’s worth… :-)

    All the best,

    – Andrew

    • http://primaltoad.com Toad

      Hi Andrew,

      Welcome to my blog!

      Thanks for your comments. You are right in the fact that its the ratio that matters. But, from what I have learned, it is the EPA and DHA that matters – not ALA. All nuts contain ALA. We can only convert a very small percentage of ALA to EPA and DHA, around 2-4% I believe.

      An ounce of walnuts contain 10 grams of omega 6 fatty acids – none being the important EPA and DHA. So, unless you consume A LOT of fish then your ratio is going to be WAAAY OFF. This is why I recommend macadamia nuts and Mark does as well. They only contain .36 grams of omega 6 and 1 fish oil pill provides .5 grams of EPA and DHA so its easy to balance the ratio.

      This is what I understand after reading tons of information on omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids. WIth that said, walnuts once in a while are a good thing. But, nuts and seeds contain phytic acid just like grains and thus many people may not be able to absorb the minerals properly. This is also why I tend to eat a small amount of nuts. And, they are very to over consume.

      Thanks again for your comment – I really appreciate it.

  • http://paleodiet.com/definition.htm Don Wiss

    “nuts and seeds contain phytic acid just like grains”

    Yes, but I would think that there is very little in macadamia nuts. And it is often blanched off of almonds. The phytic acid is in the bran, and that is the brown covering that you see on the nut.

    My problem with raw macadamia nuts is they are too sweet tasting. Having given up sweets decades ago I no longer like sweet foods.

    • http://primaltoad.com Toad

      That may be true – I am really not sure. I am not going to worry about it too much though. I used to eat loads of grains and was thus ingesting loads of phytic acid. A serving of nuts a day is fine along with some cacao. Macadamias are too sweet for you? As far as sugar content goes, there is virtually none.

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  • http://www.facebook.com/Brian.Matney Brian Matney

    I’ve got a couple issues with your article and whole ranking of all the above nuts. First off being cashews are not truely a Paleolithic food because they cannot be eaten raw, why? Because they have the capability of being toxic. Some info on why: http://www.innvista.com/health/foods/seeds/cashew.htm As far as walnuts, I realize that thier overall nutritional value looks like they don’t have much to offer but do you realize that they have more antioxidants than any other nut on your list? http://www.grindscope.com/walnut-deemed-king-of-all-nuts/223166/ all you have to do is Google walnuts to come up with website after website going on and on about the studies they have done and how walnuts are on top, you can’t always just look at a nutrition label of something to compare what’s best.

    • http://primaltoad.com Toad

      Sure dude. I am not perfect.