In the Gym January 26th + Back Away from the Bag of Nuts…

WOD

Run Two Laps around the Block
Then
7 Rounds
10 Wallball 20/15
10 pushups

Why you should not be getting those Costco sized bags of nuts

Nuts are Paleo, right? Well, sure. But whoa now – nobody said we should be eating them by the pound. It seems like a lot of people, when first transitioning to Paleo-style eating, rely on nuts to satisfy their urges for the things they’re used to. Paleo cookies, Paleo pancakes, Paleo muffins, etc – these are all usually made with nut flours or nut meals. In addition, some people just eat a boat-load. You may have heard Coach Z refer to the problem of people treating nuts as an “open food source” – ie, a giant, Costco-sized bag of nuts that you eat out of all day long. Not. Good.

There are a lot of reasons why limiting the nuts you eat is a healthier way to be healthy. They represent a LOT of calories – and yes, good calories are important (especially when you are getting your butt kicked in the gym every day!), but with nuts it’s easy to go overboard. Nuts also contain lectins, which can irritate the gut, and a lot of phytic acid, which inhibits mineral absorption. The other biggie is omega-6 polyunsaturated fats, which you want to keep low.

Here are a couple of good articles:

This one gives some good information on the phytic acid issue, with some breakdowns for different nuts (as well as other foods).

This one breaks down the omega-6/omega-3 ratios of a lot of nuts, as well as telling you some of the other nutritional information about them.

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