Nuts good source of protein?

jessalwayz · December 2011

Are nuts such as pistachios, peanuts, and almonds good source of protein? And they have a lot of calories but are these good calories?

Sidesteal · December 2011

It depends on how you differentiate good calories from bad calories.

Nuts are a great source of fat. They don't have all that much protein. If I'm reaching for a handful of nuts (inb4 koosdel), I'm either doing it for my tastebuds or to fill a dietary fat deficiency/need. I wouldn't look to them as a major contributor to protein.

stubbysticks · December 2011

Personally I don't turn to nuts as a source of protein because of the high calories. Yes, the fat calories are from healthy fats so it's definitely not harmful to eat them, assuming it's within your calorie goals. Fat is 9 calories per gram whereas protein & carbs are only 4 calories per gram, so after I've met my protein goal I prefer to "spend" less calories on fat & more on carbs because it's just more food...& I likes food.

neanderthin · December 2011

Depends on your goals. Nuts in moderation are fine to consume, but not as a good protein source....fat, yes. Fish like tilapia are a good protein source, or chicken or lean cuts of red meat with less calories and 4X as much protein...also greek yogurt, soy that kind of thing. Nuts are high in fat like I said and not the best omega ratio's, which is important considering most people have pretty messed up ratio's.

carrie_eggo · December 2011

I agree with everyone above. I eat nuts to hit my fat and calorie goals. The protein is just an added bonus.

chocolateandvodka · December 2011

nuts and nut butters - excellent sources of protein. the more the merrier.

sassylilmama · December 2011

I concur

bcattoes · December 2011

Yes, nuts are good calories.

SimplyShanRunning · December 2011

Attention people the lady speaks the truth

kandyjo · December 2011

Once again... I get sucked into a post that is not at ALL what I think it's about!

carrie_eggo · December 2011

Really? Because I just ate 1oz of walnuts and I got 185 calories, and only 4g protein. Yesterday I ate 5.1oz of chicken and it was 36g protein and only 153 calories. I beg to differ.

AddA2UDE · December 2011

LMAO! You too, huh?

taso42 · December 2011

Nuts have about a 2:1 fat:protein ratio. So as mentioned above, I would mostly count them as a fat rather than a protein source.

morganhccstudent724 · December 2011

Miko aka chocolateandvodka knows what she's talking about...

chocolateandvodka · December 2011

you ate walnuts? there's your problem... bleh... i don't particularly like walnuts. i prefer other varieties.

MassiveDelta · December 2011

I dont think your nuts are the kind with the higher protein value that she is referring too...Btw I dont know about chicken nuts maybe they are different

Shock_Wave · December 2011

Imo I dont think so. Even though the fat is good fat its way to much for me and will put me over fat % quickly. So in this reguard I would say no just because to get a sufficient amount of protein from them you would have to eat a grip of them.

carrie_eggo · December 2011

I eat walnuts for the Omega 3's. All I'm trying to say is that you'd have to eat a lot of nuts (therefore a lot of calories and fat) to get the same amount of protein as a 5 oz serving of chicken (or other meat).

servilia · December 2011

She speaks the truth!

servilia · December 2011

This is the truth too.

servilia · December 2011

So which nuts have significantly higher protein than walnuts?

HealthyAcademic · December 2011

According to this academic journal article: http://www.ajcn.org/content/59/5/1203S.full.pdf+html

Almonds, Pumpkin Seeds, and Sunflower Seeds have the highest percentage of protein per calorie. Page 1206S has a cool breakdown of the percentage of protein a number of veggie sources have.

gonzalezmona · December 2011

Plain almonds & walnuts are the best way to go if you are looking at adding a "nutty" variety to your menu. I read some where, I foreget exactly where...thinkin' OXYGEN or some other health magazine, but anyways, 23 almonds a days is good for belly fat. Don't know how they came up with that number. I put a few nuts in my oatmeal, yogurt, salads, or any where else I want a bit of crunch. When I'm feelin' a lil hungry, I grab a handful of almonds or walnuts. They definately take the edge off. The fats in these nuts are healthy. I wouldn't suggest grabbing a bagful of trail mix with almonds & walnuts. I buy mine plain from bulk & keep them in a small container in my purse for the munchies.

servilia · December 2011

ok I actually appreciate that table because I'm interested in different sources of protein. Still, nuts are not food items I would go to if my goal is to up my protein when I'm on a calorie restriction. They could be healthful snacks if you're on the go, and good for reaching fat goals and calorie goals, but they're not protein dense enough for someone who wants to increase protein on a calorie restriction. 1oz of almonds for example have 164 cals and only 6 g of protein. I eat nuts, don't get me wrong. But when someone is asking for help specifically with increasing protein, I'd recommend chicken, beef, cottage cheese, a good yogurt, etc before recommending nuts.

heybales · December 2011

Not the highest % of protein per calorie. That's how much of the nut is protein by weight. And then how much of that protein is actually usable in the human body, the rest is not used as protein for building muscle.

So almonds are rated at 58 LAA score, so of the 20.4% of protein in the nut, only 58% (about) of it can be used as total protein.

But the facts on an almond is http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3085/2

14 g fat, 6 g carbs, 6 g protein, in 28 g of almonds.

So there is your 20% of the weight of your almonds is protein.

Calories though, only 13% of 162 calories from protein, but the fat is 72% of the calories.

Now, of that whopping 6 g of protein, only about 3 g is actually going to be used by your body.

So if your definition of "good source of protein" is a whole 7 g in 325 calories worth of a meal, you will be blown away when you try a piece of chicken.

heybales · December 2011

I thought it might be interesting to run the same figures with a nut from that study with a 100 usage figure, that was also mentioned a couple times as a "good source of protein" in the responses.

Pumpkin seed, and lets eat a whole cup of them roasted.

24.5% by weight, 100 usable, lysine good (does that mean the Jurassic Park dinosaurs will be looking for them?)

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3141/2

Cup grams - Fat - Carb - Protein grams.
64_________12__34____12 (doesn't match the study, perhaps roasting not good idea)

Calories
285________104_140____41

So you could get a decent 24g of protein by eating 2 cups (and 570 calories) worth of pumpkin seeds.

I'm actually surprised they are that high carb. Never liked them much, so never noticed. Now I really don't want them.

How big is a bag of pumpkin seeds, and what is the husk weight you spit out?

Nuts good source of protein?

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