Quit Going Nuts for Nuts!

I like many others, love snacking on nuts and eating nut butters. Peanut butter, almonds, cashews, almond butter, almond milk, cashew milk, yep all of the above! However, did you know that eating nuts (in any form) all the time can have a negative impact on your health?

Here’s a few reasons why,

• Nuts contain a lot of phytic acid, AKA phytate, AKA IP-6, AKA the storage form of a plant’s phosphorus, and antioxidant to the seed in times of oxidative stress (PDF). When something that contains it is eaten, phytic acid binds to minerals like zinc, iron, magnesium, calcium, chromium, and manganese in the gastrointestinal tract, unless it’s reduced or nullified by soaking, sprouting, and/or fermentation. Bound minerals generally cannot be absorbed in the intestine, and too many bound minerals can lead to mineral deficiencies. 

• Nuts contain a varying amount of polyunsaturated fats or PUFA’s.  In particular, Omega-3 fatty acids and Omega-6 fatty acids.  Too much PUFA in your diet or an unhealthy balance makes your body more vulnerable to inflammation.  (It Starts With Food)

• While you may not be allergic to nuts to the point where you puff up or you break out in hives, you can still have a slight sensitivity to them that can affect your GI tract.  Nuts can cause bloating, nausea, headache or stomach pain which we might associate with something else before accusing our favorite snack.  I know I did!

• While it is true nuts are a great source of healthy fats, they are also very high in calories so we need to be cautious of overdoing it.  Plus the PUFA and Omega-6 can really add up when munching on nuts daily as our first source of healthy fats." Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/nuts-and-phytic-acid/#ixzz2kRSDBHBo

So how can you avoid an imbalance? It's recommended to decrease the amount of omega-6 and PUFA’s in ones diet and to eat some naturally occurring omega-3's. Just not TOO much.

For those of us that love nuts, this can be a challenge. BUT, not impossible! To help you balance out your omega's, here's a helpful chart to use when deciding which ones to eat.

 

Instead of snacking on nuts to get in our healthy omega-3’s, try choosing grass-fed animals which are a great source of omega-3’s. Get creative with snacks. Start incorporating foods like grass-fed jerky, hard boiled eggs, seeds, coconut chips, or coconut butter are all great sources of Omega-3's!