Over the weekend, I had the honor and pleasure of training the newest members of the inCYST network. I'll share more about them in another post!
I realized while doing that training that there is something I always share in professional presentations, that I have yet to post on this blog. It has to do with my perspective about the fact that walnuts consistently show up on every blog post and in every interview about increasing the omega-3's in your diet…and when you do the math…it turns out there may be some other great choices, potentially even better choices, than walnuts for doing this job.
TRUE Walnuts have the highest amount of omega-3 fatty acids per gram of nut than any other nut, about 2.5 grams per ounce.
TRUE Walnuts also have a very high amount of omega-6 fatty acids per gram of nut, about 10 grams per ounce.
TRUE Walnuts have an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 4 to 1. If this was the only food we ever ate, this is actually a decent ratio.
HOWEVER…The problem is, when people are trying to use diet for help with inflammatory diseases like PCOS, their ultimate goal is to simultaneously reduce omega-6 intake and increase omega-3 intake. Every time you eat walnuts, you increase both omega-3 and omega-6 intake.
NUTTY STRATEGIES FOR BALANCING OMEGA-3'S AND OMEGA-6'S
1. Don't eliminate walnuts! They still, in moderation, have a lot of great health benefits.
2. Eat a variety of nuts. I like to shop at a store that has bulk food bins. Every week they have a different nut on sale. I went to IKEA and bought a bunch of see-through canisters. Every week I purchase a pound of whatever is on sale and add it to my collection. That way I can snack on almonds, cashews, macadamias, pecans…and always have them on hand for cooking or salads. That way I get the best each nut has to offer, while minimizing potential problems that might arise from getting too much of one kind of nut.
3. Know your anti-inflammatory nuts. If correcting your omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is your current most important goal, get friendly with the following nuts: macadamia, hazelnut, pecan, pine, pistachio. I ranked them in order of which ones have the highest ratio of omega-3 and monounsaturated fats compared to omega-6 and saturated fats. (Thanks to friend and colleague Johanna Roth for helping with that analysis).
Each of these types of nuts, has an anti-inflammmatory benefit related to its fat profile. Peanuts, peanut oil, and old-fashioned style (no trans fat) peanut butter are pretty neutral, won't hurt your ratio, but won't really improve it. (Peanut butter is a great and inexpensive choice, and is perfect when eaten in an overall diet that also includes fish, flax, and other omega-3 balancing choices.)
(Monounsaturated fats are mathematically neutral and healthfully beneficial. They are the type of fats also found in olive oil and avocados).
Most people who recommend walnuts as part of their Top Ten List of Foods have not taken the time to do all of the math. They simply stopped at the basic analysis.
Hazelnut-encrusted halibut, anyone?