Tracking my efforts to beat Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), aka CFIDS, aka CFS

Tracking my efforts to beat Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), aka CFIDS, aka CFS

Thursday, January 10, 2013

A flaw in my diet plan: Almonds

I've been on a low carb, Paleo-like diet for over a year.  (I say Paleo-like because I eat modest amounts of dairy from time to time.)  There's no question that the diet has helped me improve, especially my gut symptoms.  "Nausea and gut disturbances" used to be a category on my daily health chart, but I was able to eliminate that category about 3 months after switching to a low carb diet.  I don't experience gut issues any longer unless I break from the diet.  

But since changing to a low carb diet, almonds have been a major staple in my diet.  I toss those suckers back by the handful; I drink almond milk dailyall because I read somewhere that almonds are one of the few nuts that are compatible with an anti-Candida diet.  (My blood tests continue to show high Candida antibodies.)  

On the other hand, an anti-inflammatory diet is important for PWMEs.  It is thought that inflammation is one of the causes of many of our symptoms in ME/CFS,[1][2] and it seems that the low carb diet crowd keeps growing and growing in ME/CFS circles.  God knows, it has helped me.

Now, one of the keys to an anti-inflammatory diet is maintaining a low ratio of Omega 6's to Omega 3's.  Omega 6's are pro-inflammatory fatty acids, while Omega 3's are anti-inflammatory fatty acids.  Omega 6's are much more common in our foods, so it's difficult to achieve a 1-to-1 ratio of 6's to 3's, but a reasonable goal is about 3-to-1 or 2-to-1.

So as I was reading tips to lower one's Omega 6/3 ratio, I came across this tidbit from whfoods.com:

"So, how can you go about lowering your 6:3 ratio? One excellent approach is to [eliminate] foods in your diet that are relatively high in omega-6s and low in omega-3s. 
For an example, let's take almonds. With no omega-3s and about 4-5 grams of omega-6s per cup, your almonds are a member of the nut family with the highest possible 6:3 ratio. Once you've located a food like almonds with a very high 6:3 ratio, look inside of that same food group (in this case nuts) for a food with the most possible omega-3s. In this case, walnuts would make an outstanding choice within the nut group because walnuts have about 2.25 grams of omega-3s per quarter cup and a 6:3 ratio of about 4:1. Just by replacing almonds with walnuts, you could make an important shift in your 6:3 ratio."
I checked the accuracy of this ^ statement against other sources and it appears to be true.  Many other sources warn against the pro-inflammatory qualities of almonds.  It's just a little vexing to know that I may have been cancelling out some of the benefits of my diet for the last year.  On the other hand, I suppose it's encouraging that I might reap even more benefits from my diet by making one simple elimination.

Now, the challenge is to find a replacement for all those nutty almond calories.  Walnuts?  We'll see...

9 comments:

  1. I eat an insane amount of macadamia nuts. I believe they are low in both omega 3 and omega 6 fats. They are expensive by weight but since they are so high in calories they are a reasonable cost per calorie. Check out http://www.marksdailyapple.com/nuts-omega-6-fats/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for that advice B. I just got back from the store picking up some walnuts, but I'll add some macadamias to my list next time.

      Delete
  2. HI there,
    was interested in your take on almonds. i may be wrong but most of the fat in almonds (about two thirds) is omega 9 (oleic acid) which is anti-inflammatory, so i dont think they would class as a particularly high pro-inflammatory food although some of the fat (about a third is omega 6 (polyunsaturated).

    all the best,
    dan

    ReplyDelete
  3. Use coconut milk instead of almond milk. It is easy and way cheaper to make at home plus you can avoid all the nasty additives in the boxed milks.
    http://wellnessmama.com/2447/homemade-coconut-milk/

    Here is a great article about nuts and their fat content. BTW, walnuts have MORE O6 than Almonds. Ugh.
    http://www.marksdailyapple.com/nuts-omega-6-fats/#axzz2HsgwmLlc

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have had the same problem with almond milk. I think it is just too much concentrated protein. Coconut milk works better for me too- as long as it is in moderation. Use it for my carob hot chocolate in the winter when I just can't resist the craving. Plain almonds in small amounts once in a while I can tolerate but I don't think nut milks are very energizing because they are too concentrated. Nuts are better taken in salads or in salad dressings. I find mixing heavier food with highly enzymatic greens helps digest everything easier. Putting a few nuts in a smoothie also helps digest them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the comments, Amanda. You know, now that I've switched to coconut milk, I realized I should have been drinking that all along. I think it tastes much better than almond milk and has a higher fat content (I need the calories). I had the same idea and made hot chocolate with it lately -- so good!

      Delete
  6. This is a pretty good website, have you seen it? http://paleozonenutrition.com/2011/05/10/omega-6-and-3-in-nuts-oils-meat-and-fish-tools-to-get-it-right/

    I'm having a really hard time wrapping my head around changing my oh-so-terribly-restricted diet... I don't have the energy to experiment with cooking, so I'm trying to figure out easy swaps. My energy level is pretty much walk into the kitchen, grab a handful of something, go back and sit down... I can't give up the almond flour crackers and waffles my husband makes me ~ I have nothing else interesting! ~ so, changing the nuts and seeds I snack on is my best option. I calculated all those omega 6/3 ratios from the graph and it seems the best is walnuts... then macadamias... then pecans... ick. Maybe I could just lean towards cashews and pistachios instead of almonds? And what about butters? Switch to cashew butter instead of almond butter?

    I'm not looking for a response, just using as a sounding board. I should just blog about it. Thanks for putting me on this investigation! (I think ;))

    elizabethmilo.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know you weren't looking for a response, but you're gonna get one. ;) Lol, I can't help it.

      Anyway, I wasn't happy with what I discovered about almonds either because so much of my diet was based on them at that point. But I've since switched to mostly walnuts and macadamias, and they are *almost* as good. Of course, macadamias are outrageously expensive, but what are you going to do? But I decided to eat almonds still sometimes, just much more in moderation than before. I also switched to cashew butter and found that I like the taste better anyway. Whole Foods has a fairly inexpensive brand of cashew butter.

      Thanks for that link!

      Delete