Mark's Daily Apple is advocating...nuts?

(Bob M) #1

Lately, I’ve begun to rethink what’s “bad” and what’s “good”.

Out pops this article: Mark’s Daily Apple is advocating…nuts…Or at least isn’t against nuts:

I’m not sure what to say. Since I gained so much weight eating high saturated fat on The Croissant Diet, I’m no longer convinced that saturated fat for satiety is that strong of a concept, at least for me. That would mean that perhaps nuts might not cause hunger (or many other ill effects). Are they still bad?

I think they are, in the sense that I can EASILY overeat them. That’s the main reason I quit eating them, and that was years ago, pre-my distrust of PUFAs.

If you can limit yourself to a handful, maybe they aren’t so bad.

(Robin) #2

I love nuts and I can’t limit them when I get started. Plus, they head directly for my diverticulosis and start wreaking havoc. Alas, my darling macadamias are a thing of the past. The one that got away. (sigh)

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #3

I think this is one of those things where we have to decide what works best for us, individually. I wouldn’t go bonkers, simply because Mark thinks it’s a good idea.

(Eric) #4

For my n=1 nuts are a great filler for some of my meals or an occasional snack when I am not able to prep a meal yet. I usually stick to macadamia nuts due to their ratio of fat/protein. Luckily I am able to limit myself to 28g or so when I have them and don’t overindulge. I know for some on these forums nuts can lead to overdoing it.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #5

My last meal yesterday was 100 grams of macadamia nuts and 94 grams of bacon ‘crumbles’

(Bob M) #6

I’m one of those folks who overdo nuts, even macadamia nuts. One time, I had a small handful of macadamia nuts, and before I knew it, had eaten the rest of the bag (luckily, we only had about 1/3 of bag). And that’s AFTER eating dinner.

If you’re one of those (few?) people who can eat a smaller amount of nuts, I think they’re a suitable option.

I like Mark’s Daily Apple, as I think he doesn’t take a real “side” (other than he’s against grains) and tends to treat most topics fairly. He’s potentially a bit higher carb than I am, but that’s OK.

(Robin) #7

I would never do anything based on what Mark says. But there may be more than one Mark? My Mark is a knucklehead. (My deceased dad just gave me bonus point for knucklehead. Goofball also qualifies, but twofers aren’t allowed… according to my dad who was a goofball.)
See what I did there?

#8

Each to their own. I had times with 150g nuts and other oily seeds a day (long term), it was fine and now I avoid them because now that is better for me. But it’s okay for me occasionally as long as I stop at 10g at most. And that’s easy, usually, now that I came a long way :smiley: I sooo overate peanuts in the past, it wasn’t a huge amount but my body dislikes it not being a minimal amount and I can’t afford all those not satiating calories. If it’s in a food, it makes more sense to me but as a snack, may be nice but shouldn’t be a common occurrence. (Snack is a snack type food to me as I don’t do tiny meals.)

I used nuts as travel/hiking food but I have better options now.

(I can’t do much about my omega6/omega3 ratio, it’s always somewhat high. But as long as my body doesn’t complain, it’s good enough for me as doing anything else would be just worse considering the stress and confusion…)

#9

I’m … not sure why you’re confused - Mark has never really been against nuts, has he? His Definitive Guide to Nuts was published quite some years ago, and even back then he concluded “Overall, nuts are just good for you”, while gently cautioning about energy density (and thus overconsumption), and (sensibly) focusing on ensuring the freshness of whatever you buy.

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #10

I think he is very paleo oriented. So would be in favor of nuts.

I love nuts but they are so easy to over eat. I have to hide them from myself often. I am more concerned about the energy in them than the O6s. I don’t eat a lot of things with O6 in them.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #11

I was using almonds as my main go-to snack, the first year and a half I was on keto, and that was the period when I lost all my fat that my body wanted to shed (about 80 lbs.’/36 kgs’ worth). I started out eating a one-pound bag, pretty much, and then gradually got to the point where a handful is about all I want, if I feel like snacking and happen to have some on hand.

(bulkbiker) #12

The contradiction is in the very title…

“Although nuts are high in the very same omega-6 fats that are found in inflammatory industrial seed oils, nuts are healthy whole foods”

“healthy” whole foods with inflammatory properties…can that even be a thing?

I guess its very dose dependent and I do eat nuts on occasion… so…

#13

In fairness to Mark, I don’t think he’s explicitly pushing for everyone to eat nuts; he seems to be talking to those who are avoiding nuts solely for concerns over omega 6.

He discusses why he perceives nuts as different to eating vegetable oil, because they provide a number of other minerals and vitamins - whereas vegetable oil provides nothing in the micronutrient stakes.

He talks about how steady year-round access to food has meant that people are consuming nuts too frequently, rather than at the height of the season.

He suggests eating nuts within such constraints - “biologically-appropriate, evolutionarily congruent availability patterns”.

He explains that they’re not meals but should be seen as treats, and that they shouldn’t comprise the bulk of someone’s diet.

Personally, reading the article, I feel as if he’s trying to placate those who are avoiding nuts solely out of omega 6 concerns. I think there are other reasons to avoid nuts, which aren’t addressed, but that from a paleo standpoint (which has been said, was Mark’s original stance - even though he has since gone keto and is recently touching more on carnivore discussions) his argument makes logical sense.

I think the bigger concern with nuts is the way they’re consumed in high quantities in keto-friendly foods; nut powders, nut butters, nut milk. They’re all very tasty and/or can be combined to be tasty, and I think you can overload your body with something that doesn’t even resemble a nut.

I think that’s partly what he’s getting at; none of those three things are ancestrally appropriate.

#14

Mark’s Daily Apple.
ugh

but in the end he ain’t pushing all eat nuts cause those with nut allergy and land up in hospital with issues and maybe dead? Heehee

Nuts when you research them give some stuff but what do they take from you is the key factor.

I was a nut maniac. omg I loved all mostly. I ate so many walnuts at Xmas time when they went on sale that I got the bathroom issues to the ultimate. I ate cans of cashews, when they label said 1 oz is XYZ and to me the whole 8 oz package was fair game…finger food and inhale.

Who in the heck can mostly limit nuts…those who don’t adore them :slight_smile:

But hey if you can have some and do well more power to those people, for me on a very personal note, they became a massive insanity nut job time in my life…for all that great they supply, I failed the most thru wanting them and using them

again very very personal here

and don’t get me started on that useless omega 3 vs 6 crap :relieved:

#15

It can be learned, at least I trained myself well :slight_smile:
I only had problems with peanuts (legume) anyway, I was a huge addict (it went away instantly on carnviore, never missed it. my off days sometimes contained some but not as seriously as in the past)… Most of the time I can limit it to 10g, 5g or one piece but it’s not always safe… So I try to avoid it.

Cashew, walnuts or any other nuts? No way I go over 10g unless it’s walnut pancakes, one of my biggest favs. I break lots of walnuts now and I don’t go over 1g during those times.

As I sometimes say, I am the queen of ridiculous amounts :D. Unless it’s eggs or meat, of course. Or coffee, the drink (I can use 1g coffee for a few dessert pancakes).
I even limit my beloved sour cream now and don’t eat half a bucket… Maybe I never did but I surely wanted.
I can limit nearly everything. My best at peanuts is zero, just smelling the jar. I love that smell.

I am good with seasonal nut eating. We had a few hazelnuts I tasted and now it’s walnut time and I tasted them too but not to the extent I did in the past (I made walnut wafers… great with honey, by the way and I realized that on low-carb, possibly on keto already… :smiley: oh that was sooo long ago). But after a few days it’s over and I will be quite fine in my carni November. Whenever I bake something for myself, using walnuts don’t cross my mind anymore. They were important in my baking before as most low-carb flours (in a quite wide meaning. something dry I can put into my baked stuff) taste bad (or they are meh and so expensive I would never buy them out of principle. almond flour. very cliche too :D)… Now my flour is hard-boiled egg yolk and quark :slight_smile: If I need any, it’s not like I can’t just bake eggs into some wonderful cake/bread substitute in one… A bit deflated but still good! :wink: Tomorrow I will make quark sponge cakes, why I never tried that?

Erm, I got carried away a bit. But I rarely ate nuts alone, just in cakes, pancakes, wafers, breads.

(Robin) #16

@Shinita, I always look forward to your posts. You write very “stream of consciousness”. Like your brain is flowing right onto the page. I always enjoy the ride, and can almost always relate!:grinning:

(Trudy) #17

Yep, I can relate to this but I’m not ready to give them away. Trying to avoid them at the moment as I try to get back to my maintenance weight but I often don’t succeed.

(Robin) #18

I feel like I got lucky because an “overdose” of macadamia nuts once caused a fairly severe flair up of my diverticulitis. So I felt like I had to give them up. Same for veggies. It’s easier when they actually make you sick. But I miss them all!

(Bob M) #19

Septimus, I agree with everything you say.

I also think that’s an old article, as what he does sometimes is “replay” them. But I couldn’t see a date on it. I also couldn’t access the comments. I’m not sure why.

Here’s an opposing view:

https://www.proteinpower.com/are-nuts-paleo/

If what we’re discussing is, would paleo people (or anyone living in the “wild”) eat nuts if they had access to them? I think the answer is, Yes, as long as they dealt with any potential anti-nutrients or the like. (Eg, soaking, sprouting, fermenting…)

And as Mark says in his article, nuts would only be available for a limited time, and could be a challenge to eat (as told by Dr. Eades). For the nuts in Dr. Eades article, my dad’s place had those, and none of us ever attempted to eat them. Way too much work.

Now, if you’re starving or need extra calories and live in that area and have people who can devote the time to get at the nut, then it’s possible.

Now, how much does the PUFA content of nuts matter? At one time, I thought a lot. Now, I don’t know.

#20

Ah, you are very observant - you’re right, he does. I went back and checked the comments and it’s from 12 years ago.

That makes a little more sense.

Enjoyed the Eades article; thanks for the link.