i agree with spockafina. i do a serving of walnuts each day. one serving is 30 grams and 20 grams of fat and that is not a very big serving. so you have to be careful.
this is a copy and paste of an article on nuts. kinda long but talks about the different ones and what they're good for.
Looking for a high energy, nutritious snack? Looking for a good source of healthy fat and quality protein? Looking for an convenient finger-food that can be transformed into a variety of entrees? Well, look no further than nuts, nature’s super-nutritious energy foods.
Nuts are excellent sources of vitamins, minerals, and, depending on the nut in question, an assortment of fatty acids that stimulate the immune system, provide energy, and protect the digestive tract from harmful microbes. Like all plant foods, nuts are an incomplete protein source, but can be combined with other foods to make a digestible protein to help build tissues, enzymes, and the body in general.
Nuts, however, are a diverse family of seed foods from a variety of plants. Let’s take a tour of several of the more popular nuts, noting their unique nutritional features. Since no food is perfect, we’ll note any possible dangers to be aware of. We’ll finish up with a number of tasty recipes for you to try--there’s a lot more to nuts than you think!
ALMONDS: Naturopath Bernard Jensen once called almonds the "king of nuts," and with good reason as almonds appear to be the most nutritious of all nuts. Almond trees grow freely in Greece, Italy, Syria and Palestine and are mentioned several times in the Bible. In early bible times, almonds were said to be among "the best fruits of the land" and their use as a food blossomed in the Middle Ages, being an article of commerce. The nut and its oil have truly nourished people for millennia.
Nutritionally, almonds are excellent sources of vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, and potassium, as well as fair sources of trace minerals, particularly manganese and zinc. Like all nuts, almonds are rich in the amino acid arginine and so will have to be curtailed or avoided in case of an active herpes infection (arginine stimulates herpes virus replication). Glutamic acid, another amino acid, is particularly plentiful in almonds. Glutamic acid is part of the antioxidant tripeptide glutathione, and helps to detoxify ammonia from the body. Almonds are also one of the few food sources of amygdalin, sometimes called nitrilosides or "vitamin B-17," a reputed anti-cancer compound.
Almonds are good sources of protein, providing about 26 grams per 1 cup, and an almost equal number of carbohydrates. Almonds, like all nuts, however, are extremely concentrated sources of fat. Containing about 77 grams of fat per 1 cup, the majority of which (66%) is the monounsaturate oleic acid, the same fatty acid found mostly in olive oil. Monounsaturates are very stable chemically, making almonds and their oil, ideal for cooking and long storage. Almonds also provide a good source of omega-6 linoleic acid, one of the essential fatty acids.
Almonds are one of the few nuts that have been used medicinally throughout history. Ancient Roman writings claimed that almonds helped to prevent drunkenness--a questionable claim indeed! Yet almonds do contain appreciable amounts of fibre and mucilage and so can be helpful in cases of mild gastritis and constipation. Dr. Edward Shook, author of the famous Advanced Treatise on Herbology, recommended almond oil mixed with elecampane root as a remedy for wasting and tuberculosis.
Pitfalls? A few. Almonds, like all nuts, contain plentiful enzyme inhibitors making them hard to digest if not prepared properly (discussed later). And like all grains, seeds, and nuts, almonds contain anti-nutrients called phytates, organic acids that bind to minerals and prevent their absorption in the small intestines. When properly prepared, however, these compounds are neutralised, making almonds, and all nuts, excellent foods. One other possible danger is almond skin: some irritation can occur in some people. Perhaps this is the reason why Ayurvedic medicine only recommends "blanched" almonds be eaten. Peeling almonds is easily accomplished after soaking them in water.
CHESTNUTS: The fruit of the chestnut tree, chestnuts are a staple food in the tropics like Tahiti, but also form a part of the diet in colder places, most notably Great Britain.
Nutritionally, chestnuts are higher in carbohydrates than any other nut; this accounts for their sweet taste. Consequently, chestnuts are very low in fat and protein. Of the fat they do have, it is equally divided between monounsaturates and polyunsaturates. Because of their high carbohydrate content, chestnuts are very high in the B vitamins, chromium, and manganese: all nutrients required to assimilate carbohydrates.
CASHEWS: A native tree of Brazil that has found its way to India, the cashew nut comes from a pear-shaped fruit called the cashew apple. The nut is easily harvested because it grows outside the apple. Almost 90% of all commercial cashews are grown in India.
Cashews are higher in carbohydrates than most nuts and are rich sources of protein, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, copper, and zinc. Like other nuts, cashews’ fat is mostly oleic acid (60%) and linoleic acid (17%). Cashews are unique, however, in that they contain about 1.5% of lauric acid, a medium chain saturate that possesses potent antimicrobial properties. We will discuss lauric acid more under our next entry, coconut.
Cashews contain a toxic oil called cardol between the inner and outer shell. The compound is released, however, by cracking the nuts and roasting them two times in succession. There are, therefore, no "raw" cashew nuts on the market.
Cashews are also one of the foods that need to be approached cautiously when facing candidiasis, or a systemic yeast infection. Cashews accumulate mold more readily than other nuts and allergic reactions to them are fairly common in those with this ailment. You can spot moldy cashews by black flecks on the nut’s surface.
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