Hi, my name is Desiree Winkel, owner and founder of Fitness Coaching. Fitness Coaching is a studio/gym where you can work out with professional trainers. Among the workout programs we offer are boot camps, cardio boxing, weight loss training, group training and personal training.
In my studio, I advise clients on training but also on nutrition. Often, the client is overwhelmed by the number of food- and diet-plans offered in the media and everywhere else. One of the nutrition facts I advise my clients on concerns the consumption of nuts.
Nuts come in all shapes and varieties and are a great source of fat, essential trace vitamins and minerals, and fibre, but one thing they aren’t a great source of is protein. Despite what you’ll hear in the media, nuts are not a great protein source. They just have a little protein in them. For example, to get six grams of protein out of almonds, you need to eat at least 23 almonds.
If we choose to believe everything in the media, we would not understand anymore what is good or bad for us. A lot of media information sources conflict with each other.
It’s known that protein is important in muscle building and exercise recovery. It’s especially important as we age, since our ability to process dietary protein declines as we get older. Not to mention, protein is a structural component of your cells, it forms hormones, enzymes and allows cells throughout your body to communicate with each other.
Your hair, nails and blood consist of protein. It is those cells which break down and rebuild themselves all day, every day, just like muscle tissue. Protein is fantastic as a nutrient for so many reasons, and if you’re interested in increasing your protein intake, nuts aren’t the optimal food to reach for, for the following two main reasons:
(1) Nuts are primarily fat (not protein)
Nuts and seeds
- Almonds - 15% carbs, 13% protein, 72% fat
- Cashews - 22% carbs, 11.5% protein, 66.5% fat
- Peanut Butter - 13% carbs, 17% protein, 70% fat
- Walnuts - 8.5% carbs, 8% protein, 83.5% fat
- Pecans - 8% carbs, 5% protein, 87% fat
- Flax seeds - 22% carbs, 12% protein, 66% fat
- Pumpkin seeds - 13% carbs, 16% protein, 71% fat
- Sesame seeds - 17% carbs, 11% protein, 72% fat
- Sunflower seeds - 17% carbs, 11.5% protein, 71.5% fat
To hit 30 grams of protein from almonds, you’d have to eat over 800 calories, compared to something like a whey protein shake or some chicken, which both hover around 150 calories per serving. From a calorie standpoint, nuts, seeds, and nut butters are incredibly calorie dense (about 9 calories per gram from fat versus 4 calories per gram from either protein or carbohydrate), which means the ratio of calories-to-protein is not exactly favourable.
(2) Nuts are not a complete protein source
Proteins consist of individual amino acids, the so-called “building blocks” of larger protein molecules. There are 20 of them in all, but they can be further sub-categorized into either essential or non-essential amino acids. Essential amino acids (there are nine of them in all) are those that we must get from our diet because we can’t make them ourselves.
For a protein to be considered “complete”, it must contain all nine essential amino acids:
- Histidine
- Isoleucine
- Leucine
- Valine
- Lysine
- Methionine
- Phenylalanine
- Threonine
- Tryptophan
Rice and beans are the classic example of how two different foods with different amino acid profiles can have a “complimentary” effect and provide your body with all the essential amino acids it needs. That does not mean that you can eat unlimited rice and beans. If your goals are dependent on eating enough protein, focus on eating complete proteins. Nuts, unfortunately, fall into the category of “incomplete protein”.
Complete protein sources include the following:
- All meat products
- Dairy
- Quinoa
- Eggs
- Buckwheat
- Hemp
- Spirulina
When it comes to portable protein options for snacks on the go, the following are some of the best convenient options:
- Greek yoghurt
- Jerky
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Milk
- Protein shakes
- Lunch meat
The conclusion of this article is that if you take care of your complete protein intake and you take nuts as an additional, you have a great combination of healthy fats and protein.
Have a great healthy life, lovely people of Sint Maarten!
If you have questions or need more information about Fitness Training, call 524-7700. We are located on Welfare Road, next to North Eastern Insurance, on the first level of the building. Like Fitness Coaching on Facebook or Instagram.
