Nutrition - Nuts

colman1212

Ok so I hear people hear talking about how great nuts are as part of a high protein diet.

I bought a bag of whole cashew nuts in the health shop yesterday.

Nutrional Information (per 100g):

Protein 18.0g
Carb 18.0g
of which is sugars 5.6g
Fat 48.62g
Sat fat 9.2


Does that not seem like a lot of awful lot of fat to be adding to your diet??

d'Oracle

colman1212 wrote: »

Ok so I hear people hear talking about how great nuts are as part of a high protein diet.

I bought a bag of whole cashew nuts in the health shop yesterday.

Nutrional Information (per 100g):

Protein 18.0g
Carb 18.0g
of which is sugars 5.6g
Fat 48.62g
Sat fat 9.2


Does that not seem like a lot of awful lot of fat to be adding to your diet??

Cashews are slightly odd nuts.

colman1212

d'Oracle wrote: »

Cashews are slightly odd nuts.

OK well I also looked at brazil nuts and the fat was even higher...

dave13

Alst try not to eat the whole bag. A handful should do as a snack.
Basically they contain good fats, that you need in small quantities. Also leaves you feeling fuller, longer.

rubadub

d'Oracle wrote: »

Cashews are slightly odd nuts.

In what way?

Peanuts are the only standout odd nut, since they are not nuts at all but legumes. Most nuts are ~50-60% fat.

floggg

Ok, i'm not going to get into the science bit too much, but you have to bear in mind there are different types of fat. the fat in nuts are IIRC unsaturated "essential" fats, which you're body needs to stay healthy. this is not the same type of fat you get in processed foods and sweets.

Nuts are high in these essential fats, as well as protein, making them a good snack food, particularly if you are looking to build muscle.

colman1212

rubadub wrote: »

In what way?

Peanuts are the only standout odd nut, since they are not nuts at all but legumes. Most nuts are ~50-60% fat.

So why is everyone saying to eat them!!!!?

brianon

colman1212 wrote: »

So why is everyone saying to eat them!!!!?

Everyone ? Who is saying to eat peanuts over walnuts, brazil etc... ?

floggg

rubadub wrote: »

In what way?

Peanuts are the only standout odd nut, since they are not nuts at all but legumes. Most nuts are ~50-60% fat.

Botantically speaking, cashews are not nuts either, they're seeds.

rubadub

colman1212 wrote: »

So why is everyone saying to eat them!!!!?

They are fine and I eat them all the time. I am still wondering what is "odd" about cashews. The only odd one I heard of was peanuts, not odd in a bad way, just the fact it is not really a true nut.

While peanuts are good, I have heard other nuts recommended over them, having a slight nutritonal advantage. Big problem with nuts is added salt, you can rub them off, another person said to wipe them in teatowels. Asian shops sell raw unsalted cashews cheaply.



EDIT:

floggg wrote: »

Botantically speaking, cashews are not nuts either, they're seeds.

Aha, that rings a bell now, I knew there was something about them having big shells or something. Still nothing odd about the nutritional info when compared to "real" nuts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cashew

Within the true fruit is a single seed, the cashew nut. Although a nut in the culinary sense, in the botanical sense the fruit of the cashew is a seed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut

The peanut, or groundnut (Arachis hypogaea), is a species in the legume family (Fabaceae) native to South America, Mexico and Central America

colman1212

brianon wrote: »

Everyone ? Who is saying to eat peanuts over walnuts, brazil etc... ?

NO I mean't nuts in general.

colman1212

rubadub wrote: »

They are fine and I eat them all the time. I am still wondering what is "odd" about cashews. The only odd one I heard of was peanuts, not odd in a bad way, just the fact it is not really a true nut.

While peanuts are good, I have heard other nuts recommended over them, having a slight nutritonal advantage. Big problem with nuts is added salt, you can rub them off, another person said to wipe them in teatowels. Asian shops sell raw unsalted cashews cheaply.

You can buy 500g raw unsalted cahews in holland and barnett for 4.99 - thats pretty good.

Davei141

floggg wrote: »

Ok, i'm not going to get into the science bit too much, but you have to bear in mind there are different types of fat. the fat in nuts are IIRC unsaturated "essential" fats, which you're body needs to stay healthy. this is not the same type of fat you get in processed foods and sweets.

Nuts are high in these essential fats, as well as protein, making them a good snack food, particularly if you are looking to build muscle.

colman1212 wrote: »

So why is everyone saying to eat them!!!!?

Floggg answered your question.

d'Oracle

rubadub wrote: »

They are fine and I eat them all the time. I am still wondering what is "odd" about cashews.

Funk me.

Little joke there.
Sorry.
Next time I will think twice before joking about such a serious subject as Cashew Nuts.

Johnny Storm

Thread of the Week?

davmol

colman1212 wrote: »

Ok so I hear people hear talking about how great nuts are as part of a high protein diet.

I bought a bag of whole cashew nuts in the health shop yesterday.

Nutrional Information (per 100g):

Protein 18.0g
Carb 18.0g
of which is sugars 5.6g
Fat 48.62g
Sat fat 9.2


Does that not seem like a lot of awful lot of fat to be adding to your diet??

Sat fat 9.2g, seems like alot of saturated fat !!

Bog Butter

Ares wrote: »

Alst try not to eat the whole bag. A handful should do as a snack.
Basically they contain good fats, that you need in small quantities. Also leaves you feeling fuller, longer.

Easier said than done!

ApeXaviour

davmol wrote: »

Sat fat 9.2g, seems like alot of saturated fat !!

It's really really not. The rest of the fat is mostly mono-unsaturated. So that's higher than a 4:1 ratio of unsaturated : saturated fatty acids. A very "heart healthy" ratio...

You should be more put off by the 5g of sugar

Vamoose Killers

And plus you need saturated fat in your diet.

But yeah, how about you don't eat 100g? Were you dropped on your head or something?

insert-gear

I read it was a good idea to eat pistachios, as shelling them slows down your eating and theyre supposedly less fattening etc. But aren't pistachios nearly always sold extremely salted? Wht would be the very best nut you could eat. (eat most weight of if you know what i mean)

Dovers

What about these?

all_smilz

cashews are delicious if u toast em in the oven til they brown slightly.... Lovely treat.... great in a salad or stirfry (that way they are cooked slightly more healthily).
I am toying with the idea of shaking some chilli over them before roasting....

Killme00

Hazelnuts rock, especially when wrapped in chocolate and caramel.



Unfortunately i cant eat this kind of crap anymore, snacks for me these days are made up of almonds, oranges or pinapples etc. according to Barry, Pinapples are a natural anaestehic so maybe thats why nothing hurts anymore except my ribs.

all_smilz

Killme00 wrote: »

Hazelnuts rock, especially when wrapped in chocolate and caramel.



Unfortunately i cant eat this kind of crap anymore, snacks for me these days are made up of almonds, oranges or pinapples etc. according to Barry, Pinapples are a natural anaestehic so maybe thats why nothing hurts anymore except my ribs.

Barry Scott?
i wouldnt trust him, or his cleaning products....:p

Killme00

all_smilz wrote: »

cashews are delicious if u toast em in the oven til they brown slightly.... Lovely treat.... great in a salad or stirfry (that way they are cooked slightly more healthily).
I am toying with the idea of shaking some chilli over them before roasting....

chilli roasted cashews sounds delicious, let me know how they work out

Roper

I eat a 300g bag of dry roasted peanuts every 2 days on average. That's about 1500kcal, 14g of protein, mostly good fats and some carbs. I actually recommend peanuts over protein shakes to anyone who asks me what to get to put on some weight. Dry roasted are actually not as salty as you might think but if you're concerned get unsalted or just get salted ones and shake them in a sieve for a while until you shift some of the salt.

Oh and eat fats. Good ones.

ScissorPaperRock

Got a 350g pack of Honey Roast Peanuts & Cashews in Dunnes the other day. Delicious, I'm munching away all the time.

Here's the nutritional value if anyone's interested

Per 100g

Energy 598 Kcal
Protein 23.0g
Carbs 17.4g
of which sugars 14.1g
Fat 48.5g
of which saturates 6.8g
Fibre 3.9g
Soduim 0.4g

Reyman

Roper wrote: »

I eat a 300g bag of dry roasted peanuts every 2 days on average. That's about 1500kcal, 14g of protein, mostly good fats and some carbs. I actually recommend peanuts over protein shakes to anyone who asks me what to get to put on some weight. Dry roasted are actually not as salty as you might think but if you're concerned get unsalted or just get salted ones and shake them in a sieve for a while until you shift some of the salt.

Last time I looked at the packets the dry roasted peanuts had about twice as much salt as the ordinary salted peanuts. Incidentally I also found that the ordinary Tesco peanuts were quite low in salt and had far less salt than the fancy brands like Kelkin, Manhattan etc. (as well as better value)

all_smilz

Killme00 wrote: »

chilli roasted cashews sounds delicious, let me know how they work out

they CANT work out... they are nuts (almost):p:D

MagicMarker

ScissorPaperRoc wrote: »

Got a 350g pack of Honey Roast Peanuts & Cashews in Dunnes the other day. Delicious, I'm munching away all the time.

Here's the nutritional value if anyone's interested

Per 100g

Energy 598 Kcal
Protein 23.0g
Carbs 17.4g
of which sugars 14.1g
Fat 48.5g
of which saturates 6.8g
Fibre 3.9g
Soduim 0.4g

That be a lot of sugar.

IIMII

I think the obvious question must be how much cashew nut a day is too much, or enough?

Washout

everything in moderation.

n one is saying to go mad on eating nuts

IIMII

A cupful a day? 100g a day? Genuinely asking out of interest

rubadub

insert-gear wrote: »

I read it was a good idea to eat pistachios, as shelling them slows down your eating and theyre supposedly less fattening etc. But aren't pistachios nearly always sold extremely salted? Wht would be the very best nut you could eat. (eat most weight of if you know what i mean)

You can get ready shelled unsalted pistachios in some asian shops, about €12 for a kilo.

MagicMarker wrote: »

That be a lot of sugar.

Yes, I had those tesco nuts, they were sickly sweet, ended up mixing them with others to "dilute" the sweetness.

IIMII wrote: »

A cupful a day? 100g a day? Genuinely asking out of interest

I would have about 50g, but when I open a 400g bag it can vanish in one go.

The salt content listed on packets will be all the salt in that packet. But you do not end up eating all that, you always end up with a load of salt in the end corners of the packet. I often hold the pack at the top and tap it against my leg so more salt falls off into the end of the packet. You could always rinse & dry them if you are that worried.

IIMII

rubadub wrote: »

I would have about 50g, but when I open a 400g bag it can vanish in one go.

I hear you brother. I'm borderline addicted myself

SuprSi

Sorry, just so I'm clear - dry roasted peanuts are ok? I always lumped them in with salted as being relatively bad for you compared to cashews or almonds.

peepeep

You can buy small, handy packs of unsalted pistachio nuts in supervalu. they're pretty cheap too, just 1 or 2 euro.

i think the general rule with nuts is that 1 handful = 1 portion. i tend to have a max of 20 pistachios per day. you get all the good fats and protein without adding on too many extra calories.

also, they are delicious.

ApeXaviour

SuprSi wrote: »

Sorry, just so I'm clear - dry roasted peanuts are ok? I always lumped them in with salted as being relatively bad for you compared to cashews or almonds.

As you should, they're not good for you at all. They're not even nuts, they're legumes. Peanut oil is used to induce heart disease (for research) in rabbits. Dry roasting will usually include salt, and sugar. Making them pretty crap.

Almonds are a fantastic food, full of antioxidants and monounsaturated fat (the good one).

Roper

Peanuts can kill!
Bread can kill!
Red meat can kill!

Actually, too much of anything can kill you. So why not moderate your intake of everything? Well I can think of one good reason and that's pleasure. I'm almost certain that I'll die of one of the following things:
1) Being hit by a car
2) Crashing my car while trying to eat peanuts
3) Crashing my car while trying to look at women
4) Trampolining accident
But I'm pretty sure I won't die of Peanut Oil related heart disease, or brown bread related diabetes.

We can take everything too far as regards diet. Hand on my heart the best long term results I've seen from anyone are people who moderate their diets to a sustainable level and understand where things fit in. That means bread now and again, peanuts, occasional sugar even. What I've also seen is people getting in great shape through extreme diets and then just crashing.

d'Oracle

Roper wrote: »

Peanuts can kill!
Bread can kill!
Red meat can kill!

Actually, too much of anything can kill you. So why not moderate your intake of everything? Well I can think of one good reason and that's pleasure. I'm almost certain that I'll die of one of the following things:
1) Being hit by a car
2) Crashing my car while trying to eat peanuts
3) Crashing my car while trying to look at women
4) Trampolining accident
But I'm pretty sure I won't die of Peanut Oil related heart disease, or brown bread related diabetes.

We can take everything too far as regards diet. Hand on my heart the best long term results I've seen from anyone are people who moderate their diets to a sustainable level and understand where things fit in. That means bread now and again, peanuts, occasional sugar even. What I've also seen is people getting in great shape through extreme diets and then just crashing.

You could choke on peanuts while looking at women and then crash the car.....

Roper

d'Oracle wrote: »

You could choke on peanuts while looking at women and then crash the car.....

That almost happened this morning.

telemachus

Into a trampoline.

ApeXaviour

I'll readily admit in terms of mortality risk we're dealing with pretty small fry here. House fires, vehicular accidents etc. even drinking too much should take priority if one wishes to worry about these things.

But it was a question posed about peanuts vs almonds on a relative good/bad scale. In which case I hope you'd agree that

Almonds >> peanuts
Just as
berries >> haribo

and

Drunk driving through trampolines while a pretty woman feeds you peanuts from her cleavage >> Sitting in a padded room eating almonds (it's a matter of priorities)

rubadub

Was in Holland & barret in blackrock today. 1/3rd off cashews, €3.99 for a 500g bag of unroasted unsalted cashews. Got 3 packs, with luck they might last the weekend:pac:

I am going to have a go making cashew peanut butter.

b12mearse

nuts in there original form are great. full of all healthy natural oils. but when they are cooked they are detroyed of there nutrition and are as healthy as chips from mcds.

rubadub

b12mearse wrote: »

when they are cooked they are detroyed of there nutrition and are as healthy as chips from mcds.

So should I toss out my meridian natural unsalted peanut butter and hit mcdonalds instead?

ApeXaviour

I think (s)he might have been exaggerating. Some nuts can survive cooking better than others. It all depends how unstable their fats are. Generally the more saturated the fats are the better they're able to withstand heat without oxidising. So almonds and cashews are pretty okay being mostly monounsaturated. Walnuts no, well I can't imagine much damage being done to them baked in the middle of a cake mind you, but I wouldn't fry them (who does this anyway?).

tbh I don't think it's a bad thing to eat cooked nuts unless they've been scorched. Much much worse things out there.

rubadub

ApeXaviour wrote: »

I think (s)he might have been exaggerating.

Yes, just a tad;) A lot of these black & white comments on recently. "cooking" was not defined at all. I have heard roasting nuts at lower temps can make a big difference. Also boiling is cooking, I doubt that destroys nearly as much "goodness", I like raw cashews done in sauces, had some in some pasta sauce just now.

Roper

So cooked Peanuts now equal McDonalds.

I call bullshít until I see some evidence please.