While I was out on vacation, Nick sent over the following question:

I found this article on cashews. What’s your take? I love cashews and eat them a lot for the fat and protein. I want to make sure I don’t mess up the ole’ GI tract.

First, unless you’re a vegan, you should not be counting on any nut or seed for protein. You will want to ensure you are eating animal sources for your protein at each meal. This is due to concerns about protein digestibility, absorption and amino acid profiles which could be another post (or several!) outside of the scope of this question.

As far as using them as a source of fat, you are once again better served with animal sources but also should include coconut oil/milk/cream, avocados, olives and olive oil. The problem with relying on nuts, seeds and nut/seed butters is that they contain mostly omega-6 EFAs. Trying to bring up your omega-3 intake and lowering omega-6 to create a proper ratio is one of the main drives behind lowering systemic inflammation as part of a Paleo diet. I brought up some of this loooong ago in a post about fat sources.

The main concern with cashews, relative to other nuts, is their high carb content. Of any of the nuts that you can choose, cashews have the highest carb count. If they’re part of a mix, it’s not such a big deal, but on their own it’s pretty easy to unintentionally chow down a lot of extra carbs so use with caution. For anyone attempting fat loss and hitting a wall, it’s a good idea to eliminate cashews, if not all nuts and seeds, to see if progress moves forward.

The article that Nick sent over talks about the way cashews are harvested and how they have to be carefully extracted due to naturally occurring irritants on the outer shell. The author argues that Paleo man could not have done this and therefore the nuts should not be eaten. While this is a decent first pass at looking at whether a food should be consumed, it’s not the whole picture. Unfortunately as the Paleo diet gains more attention there are a growing number of “purists” who resort to caveman role playing, as John Durant puts it. In one of Robb Wolf’s podcasts, they quote someone who had a very concise explanation of what the end goal should be:

[The] paleo [diet] is a logical framework applied to modern humans, not a historical reenactment.

The important takeaway there is that first asking “was this available to paleo man” is a great initial cut, but more factors need to be taken into consideration. Forks and other silverware aren’t taboo just because Grok didn’t have them.

Well what about the potential for a nut allergy or some remnants of these toxins bothering you? Melissa Urban of Whole9 fame had the following comment on cashews:

That’s the technicality. However, if you don’t have a sensitivity to them, I’m A-OK with keeping them in your diet. I guess the question is, how do you know if you’re sensitive? Give them up, then reintroduce them and see if you have a reaction.

You see, the long-term picture with Paleo is that there is much individualization and troubleshooting to be done so you can fine-tune it to yourself. After you initially eliminate ALL potential irritants, you reintroduce certain foods and see how you look, perform and feel. That’s why I thought it was such a poor idea for those on our last Paleo challenge to immediately run to the embrace of their favorite old junk foods and advised against it. It’s also why you do yourself a disservice if you don’t go strict since you inhibit your ability to do this troubleshooting since your system will be less sensitive. Again, I can speak to this from personal experience, as while on vacation I found certain foods that I have an allergy to. I may have had a much tougher time figuring out what caused the problem if I had been consuming everything in sight.

For those that dozed off, the two quick takeaways for today are that cashews are fine — in moderation — and keeping your food choices as clean as possible will help you determine what does and doesn’t do you well.


WOD 12.18.10

12 Days of Christmas (2010 edition)

  • 1 Burpee
  • 2 Wallball Shots
  • 3 V-Ups
  • 4 Box Jumps
  • 5 Ring Dips
  • 6 Push Ups
  • 7 Sit Ups
  • 8 Squats
  • 9 Kayaks (both sides)
  • 10 PVC Overhead Lunges
  • 11 KB Swings
  • 12 Burpees

3 Responses to “Nutritional Q&A 8”

melissa
December 18, 2010 at 12:43 PM

damn, i wish i’d gotten my ass out of bed at a decent time today. this WOD looks like it was fun!!!

Xuan
December 18, 2010 at 12:56 PM

@Melissa…who are you and what have you done with our friend? ;P

melissa
December 18, 2010 at 2:08 PM

ha ha ha! i can handle anything in numbers of 12 or less. :)