Let's talk nuts

[Rawmommie]

;)

Ok, so I seem to see a trend with the nuts going on here. I can't eat them often. When I do, I feel tired, slugglish, I break out, I stop losing weight. It seems to me that the response is just about the same as if I were to eat cooked food.

So, I stopped eating them except for when I made crust for my pie on Thanksgiving. Again, I felt tired and full like when eating cooked food when I ate them.

I see that other people have the same issues. What's the deal? If so many people have trouble, maybe we aren't meant to eat them? What about how hard they are to get at when in their shells. It's a protective covering. AND how they have inhibitors if not soaked? Do you think they were naturally meant to soak before humans ate them? Do most people have these problems with nuts?

So, what do you think about nuts?
:p

[Curtis]

Hmm well I guess I cant comment to much I love nuts and have no trouble with them. :) There is no way any comparison between eating a meal with nuts in it to eating a meal with beef for me as far as making me feel like taking a nap.

[rawvegirl]

I have pretty much the same response to eating nuts. I used to love almonds, but now they're so hard on my digestion and make me sluggish - even when soaked - that I can't eat them anymore. The crusts made from nuts and dates/raisins twists my stomach in knots - I think it's the bad combo. Seeds are still ok with me, though.

I think, in the wild, nuts contain a lot more water in them. Plus they're seasonal, so not abundant year-round. I think they could constitute a small part of our natural diet, but only a very small part.

Are we talking just nuts or nuts and seeds both? Some people don't differentiate between the two.

[Melissa]

I'm very interested in this topic (thanks Rawmommie for starting the thread)...I also have a love/hate relationship with nuts at the moment. I'd hate to cut them out altogether since: a) they're yummy b) they're in a lot of dessert recipes c) I think of them as my main protein source (though this may be a fallacy?) and finally, d) I don't want to cut out too much, lest I feel deprived and rebellious.

What I'm finding is that, for me, it seems to be all about the amount of nuts consumed. Until recently, I was snacking on handfuls of nuts throughout the day. Not only did they make my fibromyalgia symptoms worse and make me sluggish (mentally too), they also are fattening and kept the scale from budging. Another problem: They filled me up on the wrong thing. If I ate nuts, it meant I wasn't grabbing an apple or carrots or making a quick juice for a snack instead. Some days, I barely even ate any veggies (bananas, dates, and nuts are not the right vegan menu for me!)

I'm doing much better with my new rule: nuts in recipes once in awhile, but no nuts for "grab and go" snacks. I'm feeling better and I'm down another 1.5 lbs. I can't comment on seeds yet because I always mixed 'em with nuts. I don't think they bother me as much.

Last thought: Do gorillas eat nuts in the wild? Whenever I'm stuck with a raw foods issue, I go back to gorillas since we're genetically 99.999% the same animal :p

[flutterfly]

I eat nuts about every meal and have no problems with them at all.

[tglasco4]

Hmmm, this is interesting. I have no problems with nuts. But alot has changed with my body since I started fasting. But there are other foods, which, prior to now I had no problem with but now I can't stomach. For example, about a month ago I couldn't get enough raw hummus. Now, I just made a beautiful batch and the smell of it turns my stomach. I think it may just be a stage thing. Unless we have been raw for at least a year or two, its hard to tell why we react the way we do. If we stay raw, in the end I believe all these things will work themselves out. For now though, just don't eat what doesn't work for you ;) .

Peace.

Todd

[yeahbethany]

I don't think I do well with tons of nuts either. But here is something I noticed: I feel really good when I combine them in a recipe with vegetables.

[glad_2beme]

I have read many times to combine nuts with greens for digesting reasons. I personally have no problem with nuts, but those that do might want to follow yeahbethany's example!

[flutterfly]

I make a smoothie with bananas, nutbutter,and spinach. Or I eat nutbutter with apples or bananas on them. Very good. It is a meal in itself and a very satisfing one also

[FEELIN'GOOD]

I eat nuts mostly only in the recipes. I have had a problem with nuts and breakouts as well, and you are right, too many nuts will make your scale hate you... and you hate your scale. I read in a book by Marilu Henner that you are supposed to drink orange juice when you eat peanuts to help cut the oil and help with digestion. I'm not sure if that goes for all nuts- but that was her take on it. I find that eating them with the juice has helped with the breakouts though... I agree with just a few with veggies is probably appropriate if you are having trouble.

[chilove]

More than a very small amount of nuts very occasionally makes me feel absolutley horrible. They give me very bad headaches and neck/shoulder pain. I've noticed that cashews are the worst offender. I 've heard that cashews are not really raw, so that may be part of the problem. I've noticed that people who started raw because of health problems seem to have more problems with nuts than people who were pretty healthy to begin with. Melissa, you don't need to worry about getting protein from nuts. You will get all the protein you need from fruits, veggies, and especially greens. :-) My instinct is that nuts are meant to be a very small part of our diet. So many gourmet raw recipes rely on nuts that it does make it a little difficult if you are trying to limit them. I posted on the recipe board for nut free recipe ideas. Feel free to share some here! :-)

[Rawism]

Nuts are very filling for me, also. But I have noticed that my weight loss has slowed down tremendously since I have been endulging on nuts/nut butter lately.

I feel as if I am sometimes in a lose-lose situation. I wish to stay raw, I know that nuts are filling to me, but I also still have 30 lbs to lose before ( I think) I am at my ideal weight.

I just need an another substitute...beside avocados. ;)