Smart eating in winter - are the nuts you eat carbohydrates or fats?

Nuts can be said to be the protagonists of the winter snack stage. They are a must-have New Year's product, a healthy choice, and an energy pump for winter.

So are the nuts you eat carbohydrates or fats?

What are the benefits of eating nuts?

Today I’ll teach you how to eat nuts properly!

Nuts – Definition

Nuts, as the name suggests, are dried fruits (or seeds) with a hard shell and edible kernel.

In terms of nutritional characteristics, nuts can be divided into two categories: starchy nuts and oily nuts. The carbohydrate content of starchy nuts is over 40%, while the fat content of oily nuts is over 40%.

Therefore, the nutritional characteristics of nuts determine how we should eat them. Generally speaking, starchy nuts should be eaten as meals, and oily nuts should be eaten as oil. Eating too much will cause constipation!

Nuts – Energy Pump

Representative starchy nuts: chestnuts, lotus seeds

Every 100g of fresh chestnut kernels (about 10 pieces) contains 42g of carbohydrates, which is slightly higher than 50g of dry weight of rice (38g of carbohydrates). It is approximately equal to a fist of rice for a woman of average build, commonly known as one tael.

The carbohydrate content of every 100g of lotus seeds (dried) is very close to that of 100g of dry weight of grains (65~75g), so it can be directly exchanged with traditional grains on a 1:1 basis.

Table 1 Carbohydrate content of common starchy nuts

Oily nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts, pine nuts

The fat content of oily nuts is often over 40%, which means that half of the nuts you eat are oil. It is worth mentioning that the recommended daily intake of cooking oil is 25~30g.

Table 2 Fat content of common nuts

Nuts – How Much to Eat

Starchy nuts:

The Chinese Balanced Diet Pagoda recommends that the daily intake of cereals and tubers should be 250-400g, of which the intake of whole grains and miscellaneous beans should be 50-150g.

In terms of nutrient characteristics, starchy nuts are closer to whole grains and beans, and can be considered as partial substitutes.

We just said that 10 chestnut kernels, about 100g, are equivalent to 50g of dry weight of grains, so eating 10 chestnuts a day is actually about the same. After all, many girls only eat 1 tael of chestnuts per meal!

Oily nuts:

The recommendation given in the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2016)" is 10~15g/d.

Some studies have shown that people who consume 20 to 30 grams of nuts (mainly oily nuts) per day have a lower cardiovascular risk than those who almost do not consume nuts.

To sum up, the maximum amount of nuts you should eat per day is about 30g!

How many nuts are there in 10g?

First of all, let me make it clear that the amounts mentioned in the dietary guidelines and the pagoda are all net weights. In order to give you a more intuitive understanding, I shelled the nuts and weighed them for you to see. Are you impressed?

Table 3 Quantity of common nuts in 10g

Nuts—Why Eat Them?

Starchy nuts

Compared with refined white rice and noodles, starchy nuts contain more minerals such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, and dietary fiber, and have a lower glycemic index. They are high-quality carbohydrate "competitors" with higher nutritional density.

Oily nuts

Most oily nuts are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, which are the main fatty acids in olive oil! Monounsaturated fatty acids are beneficial for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and the regulation of blood lipids.

In a sense, consuming some nuts rich in monounsaturated fatty acids every day can help optimize the proportion of fatty acid intake. It is worth noting that since the conventional cooking oils of Chinese people often have a high proportion of ω-6 fatty acids, it is recommended to use less nuts rich in ω-6 fatty acids such as sunflower seeds.

The legend that walnuts are good for the brain actually has some scientific basis, because walnuts contain relatively more ω-3 fatty acids, but they are mainly α-linolenic acid, and the proportion that can eventually be converted into "brain gold" DHA and EPA is limited.

In addition to unsaturated fatty acids, oily nuts generally contain high levels of minerals such as potassium and magnesium, as well as B vitamins and vitamin E.

Table 4 Comparison of fatty acid composition of common nuts

Another thing to note is that nuts should be selected in their original flavor.

Because more salt, sugar or fat is usually introduced during the processing, so pay attention to reading food labels and nutrition information tables when purchasing, and try to eat less of these nuts~

References

1. Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents 2016

2. China Food Composition Table 2009

3. Zu Liya, Luo Junxiong, Fan Tie. Comparative analysis of fatty acid composition in 11 kinds of nuts[J]. Journal of the Chinese Cereals and Oils Association, 2004, 19(6):54-56.

4. Tang Qing, Zhang Yuxi, Cao Jun, et al. Definition and development of oily nuts[J]. Grain and Oils, 2015, (9): 10-13.

5. Wang Fang. Analysis of fat content and fatty acid composition in nuts[J]. Journal of Food Safety and Quality, 2018, 9(15): 4105-4111.

Author: Huang Yijing | Registered dietitian, China's best nutrition science expert

Reviewer Li Jibin | Professor, School of Public Health and Management

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Source: China Good Nutrition

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