Nuts good source of protein?

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  • HealthyAcademic
    HealthyAcademic Posts: 85 Member
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    nuts and nut butters - excellent sources of protein. the more the merrier.

    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.

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

    So which nuts have significantly higher protein than walnuts?

    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
    gonzalezmona Posts: 60 Member
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    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
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
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    nuts and nut butters - excellent sources of protein. the more the merrier.

    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.

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

    So which nuts have significantly higher protein than walnuts?

    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.

    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
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    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.

    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
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    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?

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