Nuts about Nuts!
I’m nuts about nuts! and i don’t mean i love them so much… well… i do… but that’s not what’s driving me nuts about nuts. it’s all the information out there about whether or not i should be eating them. So as I was snacking on some almonds today my ADD kicked in and I decided to do some research on whether or not nuts are part of a healthy diet.
The bottom line: if you’re otherwise healthy, they’re OK as a delicacy. Try not to use them as a snacky food because it’s too easy to eat a lot of them. And if you’re overweight (I’m not even talking obese- just overweight) or have heart disease or are at risk for heart disease, avoid ’em. All the nutty nutrition you can get somewhere else!
Basically I went through what I found online about what each plant based doctor I trusted thought about nuts and the reults even there were pretty varied. I hope this helps you figure out what to do about your own personal nut consumption. Me? I’m going to err on the side of caution and limit (but not eliminate) my consumption of nuts.
Protective Diet:
Nuts are a no-go on a protective diet.
Source: http://protectivediet.com/faq/lose-the-nuts
Dr. Esselstyn:
“As nuts are a rich source of saturated fats, my preference is no nuts for heart disease patients. That also eliminates peanuts and peanut butter even though peanuts are officially a legume. For those with established heart disease to add more saturated fat that is in nuts is inappropriate. For people with no heart disease who want to eat nuts and avocado and are able to achieve a cholesterol of 150 and LDL of 80 or under without cholesterol lowering drugs, some nuts and avocado are acceptable. Chestnuts are the one nut, very low in fat, it is ok to eat.”
Source: http://www.dresselstyn.com/site/faq/
PCRM (Dr. Barnard):
Be careful with nuts- don’t snack on them. Use them in other things like sauces.
Source: http://pcrm.org/health/diets/pplate/what-about-nuts-and-seeds
Dr. Campbell:
OK to eat SOME nuts.
“…the fat that’s in some foods like avocado or nuts and such, I don’t
see anything wrong with having some of that kind of thing. It’s a different deal because the
high-fat foods there, they’re in their natural form and they usually also have a lot of other
good nutrients in them. It really balances things out. So I don’t have any problem consuming
obviously nuts and avocados and things like that. Let’s not overdo them, once again, but those are good foods.”
Sources:
Dr. Greger:
Nuts don’t cause obesity: http://youtu.be/TRxMhqdmb2Y
Source: http://nutritionfacts.org/2012/12/27/nuts-dont-cause-expected-weight-gain/
Dr. Fuhrman:
Nuts are really important to eat.
Source: https://www.drfuhrman.com/library/nuts_seeds.aspx
Dr. McDougall
Nuts should be treated as a delicacy for healthy trim people
Sources:
https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2009nl/nov/nuts.htm
https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/education/videos/mcdougalls-moments/nuts/
