Is This Healthy, Paleo Food Sabotaging Your Fat Loss?
You eat all (or mostly all) Paleo foods.
You feel much better, and you’re committed.
But you’re still not losing the fat you want to.
3 Reasons Nuts Can Be a Problem
Clearly, our ancestors ate nuts pretty much whenever they found them.
So nuts have a good starting point. And yet, nuts can be dangerous in several ways:
1. Weight Loss. If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s incredibly easy to eat too many nuts.
In general, I don’t think nuts should be a significant portion of anyone’s diet, since there are many more nutrient-dense foods. But for those of you who are trying to lose weight, nuts can be a particular problem, because overeating is still overeating, and nuts are one of the Paleo foods that it’s really easy to overeat.
2. Digestive Issues. Nuts are not particularly easy to digest. Like many plant foods, they contain lectins and other proteins that our bodies don’t always break down well.
Most people can handle nuts, but if you’ve got any sort of digestive issues, it probably makes sense to completely eliminate nuts for at least a month, then reintroduce them to see how you react. Soaking nuts can also help.
3. Omega-6 Fats. Most nuts are pretty high in Omega-6 fats (which are inflammatory and contribute to a host of diseases). Because nuts are easy to eat a lot of, this can lead to quickly getting far more Omega-6 fats than you should.
Side Note: Peanuts are not actually nuts. They’re legumes. Peanuts have a variety of issues, not the least of which are things like Peanut Agglutinin and Aflatoxins, which cause a host of digestive, inflammatory, and other issues.
Eat Nuts, but Be Careful
Nuts are undeniably Paleo.
On an ounce-per-ounce basis, they’re actually very nutrient dense, and you won’t find many foods that contain more minerals overall.
But this is the type of food that needs to be monitored to make sure that you don’t over-eat nuts and also to ensure that your gut is properly digesting any nuts you eat.
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