Beware of The Nut Butter — a time to cook

May 17

May 17 Beware of The Nut Butter

Cooking, Food, Food Culture, Healthy Eating, Healthy Habits, Home Cooking, Recipes

Healthy foods can quickly become unhealthy when we overconsume them.

There’s no doubting that nuts deserve a place in any healthy diet. They are a fantastic source of fat as well as many other micronutrients. All nuts are different too — each bringing something slightly different to the table.

However, these foods are very energy-dense:

Kcal per 1oz or 28g:

Almonds 163 (approx. 25 nuts), Brazil Nuts 186 (approx. 8.5 nuts), Hazelnuts 178 (approx. 25 nuts), Macadamia Nuts 203.5 (approx 20 nuts), Pecans 196 (approx. 14 nuts), Walnuts 185.4 (approx 10 halves)

Source: Carb Manager App

You get the picture. So if you think gorging on a bag of almonds is a good idea bear in mind that 100g will deliver nearly 600kcal — that’s an entire meal. Of course, it delivers more nutrients than a bag of corn chips but the health benefits of nuts largely disappear after a 1oz serving and quickly start to head in the other direction — particularly if they are contributing to the significant overconsumption of calories.

Healthy Fats?

Different nuts contain between 40% and 80% fat. This fat is made up of varying proportions of mono-unsaturated, poly-unsaturated and saturated fats. While predominantly unsaturated, the levels of mono and poly vary hugely between the different varieties as do the levels of essential Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids.

It is recommended that we consume Omega 6:Omega 3 in a ratio of 4:1 or below. In his fascinating book Why We Eat (Too Much) Dr Andrew Jenkinson explains his theory of how the overconsumption of Omega 6 is contributing to the obesity crisis by helping to hijack our hormonal system and the subsequent ability of bodies to self-regulate.

In essence, the high Omega 6 sends a famine signal to our brains causing us to overeat and it is estimated that in our western diet we are now consuming these fatty acids in a ratio closer to 20:1 — a situation driven mainly by processed foods and cooking oils. Some nuts are also very high in Omega 6 so it is worth considering and another reason not to over-indulge.

Approximate Omega 6:Omega 3 Ratio:

Walnut 4:1, Macademeia 6.5:1, Pecans 21:1, Hazelnuts 90:1, Almonds 279:1, Brazil Nuts 664:1, Peanuts 1720:1

Omega 3 mg /30g serving

Walnut 1884, Macademeia 60, Pecans 186, Hazelnuts 36, Almonds 0, Brazil Nuts 6, Peanuts 0

Source: nutsforlife.com.au

Fats aside, nuts provide an array of micronutrients. The hazelnut is surprising as its skin is said to be one of the richest sources of polyphenols with 8x the total antioxidant content of dark chocolate. Not often considered a snacking nut like almonds they may be worth adding to the shopping list.

We should probably be eating more hazelnuts although bad news — Nutella is not a good way to introduce them into your diet!

Peanuts are the most highly consumed nut although it turns out they aren’t nuts at all and are more akin to legumes. They can still be considered a decent snack though as they provide a balanced profile of nutrients. With a 50% fat content, a 1oz (28g) serving is going to deliver about 161kcal and this amounts to one good handful of nuts.

As we know, peanuts come in various forms so be aware of how these coatings may change the fat profile, the energy content and the salt levels.

Beware of the Nut Butter!

Roasted nuts, crushed and blitzed with a good dose of salt produce an irresistibly simple way to consume a very energy-dense food. Peanut butter was the original nut spread but almost any nut will do now and their butters aren’t just spread but stirred into everything from smoothies to cakes — often with the premise of making them more healthy.

A good example of this is porridge. The internet is littered with “healthy” porridge recipes where a perfectly innocuous bowl of oats is adorned with an overly generous, and largely unnecessary dollop of nut butter sending the calorie count through the roof.

A dollop of nut butter could easily equate to 30g and, depending on the brand, that could mean 180kcal. Before you know it your “healthy” breakfast is tipping the scales at nearly 600kcal without any further additions or even a drink.