This is based for humans. But a good guide.
Most nuts’ nutritional makeup closely resemble what I consider to be an ideal ratio of the basic building blocks—fat making up the greatest amount of your daily calories, followed by a moderate amount of high quality protein and a low amount of non-vegetable carbs (see my Food Pyramid for Optimal Health).
That said, some have more ideal ratios than others. My favorite nuts are
macadamia and pecans, as they provide the highest amount of healthy fat while being on the lower end in terms of carbs and protein.
Raw macadamia nuts also contain high amounts of vitamin B1, magnesium, and manganese, while pecans boast more than 19 different vitamins and minerals that studies suggest can help you lower LDL cholesterol and promote healthy arteries.
Just one serving of macadamia nuts net 58 percent of what you need in manganese and 23 percent of the recommended daily value of thiamin. Moreover, about 60 percent of the fatty acid in macadamia is the monounsaturated fat oleic acid. This is about the level found in olives, which are well known for their health benefits.
Walnuts are also known for their health-boosting properties, which includes
anti-cancer activity (slashing breast cancer risk in mice by 50 percent, and reducing prostate cancer growth by 30-40 percent), and improved reproductive health in men, just to mention a couple.
Just one-quarter cup of walnuts also provides more than 100 percent of the daily recommended value of plant-based omega-3 fats, along with high amounts of copper, manganese, molybdenum, and biotin.
It’s thought that up to 90 percent of the antioxidants in walnuts are found
in the skin, making it one of the healthiest parts to consume. In some cases, the skin can be rather bitter, which is why most people tend to peel it off, but by doing so you’re actually removing some of the healthiest parts.
Even
pistachios, while having a more “lopsided” fat/protein/carb ratio, landing them toward the bottom of my list of healthy nuts, still have documented health benefits, particularly for diabetics. Compared to other nuts, pistachios are high in lutein, beta-carotene, and gamma-tocopherol (vitamin E), and eating one or two servings of pistachios a day has been shown to lower oxidized LDL cholesterol in people with elevated levels.
12
Nut Nutrition Facts
For comparison, the following list shows the fat, protein, and carbohydrate content
13 in grams per one ounce for your most common tree nuts:
Tree Nut
Numbers are grams per ounce Fat Protein Carbohydrates
Macadamias 22 2 4
Pecans 20 3 4
Pine nuts 20 4 4
Brazil nuts 19 4 3
Walnuts 18 4 4
Hazelnuts 17 3 5
Cashews 13 4 9
Almonds 14 6 6
Pistachios 13 6 8
Ideally, Choose Raw Organic Nuts
For the greatest health boost, look for nuts that are organic and raw, not irradiated or pasteurized. When it comes to
almonds, be aware that even those labeled “raw” are typically pasteurized when sold in the US. The reason for this goes back to a couple of salmonella outbreaks in 2001 and 2004 that were traced back to raw almonds. As a result, as of September 1, 2007 virtually all almonds must be pasteurized before being sold. If you want truly raw almonds that have not undergone some form of pasteurization (oil- or dry roasting, blanching, steam processing or propylene oxide (PPO) treatment), you’ll need to seek out vendors selling in small quantities who have a waiver from the pasteurization requirement.
Another point to remember when it comes to almonds: As with walnuts, one of the healthiest aspects of this nut appears to be their skin, which is rich in antioxidants (including phenols, flavonoids, and phenolic acids) typically associated with vegetables and fruits. A study
14 in the
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry even revealed that a one-ounce serving of almonds has a similar amount of total polyphenols as a cup of steamed broccoli or green tea.
Hence to get the greatest benefit, opt for almonds that have their skin on rather than blanched (de-skinned) almonds. When consumed with these guidelines in mind, raw, organic nuts are a convenient and enjoyable superfood to add to your diet, which is precisely why they’re recommended as one of the sources of healthy fats in my
nutrition plan, along with
avocados,
raw dairy, and butter made from raw grass-fed organic milk, organic pastured egg yolks, coconuts and
coconut oil, and grass-fed meats.