visually: nuts as dessert: sustainable strategy

Posted on by BinTAN

https://www.thekitchn.com/a-visual-guide-to-100-calories-of-nuts-snack-tips-from-the-kitchn-201778 has realistic photographs showing 100 calories of nuts

  • fat — pound-for-pound, nuts are extremely high in fat (only topped by butter), but the “safer” fat, according to Mayo.
  • protein — nuts often provide protein, presumably hunger-fighting
  • fiber — nuts provide fiber, presumably hunger-fighting
  • calorie — high, but generally researched as a healthy snack, if taken in moderation
  • “inexpensive, easy to store and easy to pack when you’re on the go”, as pointed out by Mayo clinic https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/nuts/art-20046635

Very few people point out the high fat + high calorie content of just a handful of nuts. A spoonful of nuts has roughly the same fat as a spoonful of butter/mayo, is equally addictive but nut oil is higher quality and comes with fiber.

I like the Raffles magazine summary – need portion control .. limit to tiny amount of nuts…. so tiny that I would rather eat a big serving once a few months.

I think tiny amount of nuts are good for salad.

My son doesn’t need so much heart-healthy fat. He can enjoy nuts but in very small quantity

— many fancy nuts are

  • expensive, much more than peanuts
  • exotic taste compared to peanuts
  • Few consumers binge on these fancy nuts because … cost 🙂

As such, these are luxury equivalents of the ordinary peanuts, but they are marketed as very special and “healthy” superfoods.

— heart health

The benefits of nuts were clear enough for the FDA in 2003 to issue a “qualified health claim” for peanuts and certain tree nuts — almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, some pine nuts, pistachios, and walnuts. The claim allows some nuts and foods made with them to carry this claim: “Eating a diet that includes one ounce of nuts daily can reduce your risk of heart disease.”

http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/is-peanut-butter-healthy

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/08/20/peanuts-health.aspx

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/7705466/Packet-of-nuts-a-day-can-reduce-cholesterol-levels.html — SMALL amount. “researchers found that those who ate plenty of nuts, of all varieties, had lower cholesterol levels than those who rarely ate them.”

— nuts compared to creamy cake, brownie, cheese cakes, cookie, scone, Indian deserts

All of those are fatty from animal fats, therefore less healthy.

Nuts have more fiber than those.

— nuts compared to cheese

Calorie density is better in cheese esp. light cheese.

In terms of binge-risky, cheese is usually an addictive ingredient in a starchy food, but nut is often binge-risky by itself.

— nuts compared to avocado: avocado: slightly better than nuts

–Conclusions:

  1. For me, nuts are really fatty _desserts_. There are lighter desserts like rice pudding, nonfat ice cream …
  2. wine can be healthy drink iFF you only take a small cup. Similarly, nuts is considered a “healthy” snack if you eat a few pieces, not a hundred pieces as I usually do.
  3. eat in moderation, not asMuchAsYouLike as raw veg
  4. possibly as a relief-food to go with raw veg
  5. avoid nuts coated with a paste and deep-fried
  6. avoid nuts coated with sugar

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