N is for Nuts

Photo credit: Tetiana Bykovets of Unsplash

I began my love affair with nuts seven years ago when I first went on the Paleo diet. I embarked on this dietary trend in an attempt to find a way out of daily mud-in-my-veins fatigue, unusual floating pain, digestive distress, and the ever-increasing symptoms that seemed to be coming out of nowhere. Removing dairy from my son’s diet had been the ticket to his cyclical vomiting freedom, so I had every reason to believe that nutrition could be my way out of dis-ease as well.

I wasn't a stranger to eating nuts. I mean, I never passed up a slice of pecan pie during the holidays and I grew up eating my fair share of pb&j 🥜(yes, I know peanuts aren't actually nuts, they're legumes). But other than the occasional salad enhancement or dessert additive, I didn't eat them regularly.⁠

So when I hopped on board the grain-free, dairy-free, vegan-to-paleo train years ago, nuts became a staple of most of my meals. They're filled with "good" fat, fiber, and protein. Nuts are known to promote heart health, reduce diabetes risk, are high in antioxidants, and fight inflammation. What's not to love?!

I began to love nuts so much, in fact,--think nut butter, almond flour treats, nut milk, nut ice cream, nuts in my smoothies--that I even purchased a domain name for my future nut-based cookbook! 👩🏻‍🍳 (SpoonfulOfNuts.com - it’s all yours now if you want it! )

Too much of a good thing is, well... not so good. Turns out, nuts are high in lectin. This is a big subject for a blog post, but the gist is that these specialized plant and plant seed proteins act as a deterrent against creatures consuming them in the wild. Humans are designed to eat nuts, but not in massive quantities or the gut lining can become compromised. Science is now showing a link between these difficult to digest lectins and autoimmune conditions. (As we know, many of us on a standard American diet already have damaged GI tracts!)⁠

It took my stubborn brain a few years to listen to my wise body, but now I'm aware of their effect on my digestion and eat enough to fuel me without taking me down.⁠

How do you feel about nuts? Love em or hate em?

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