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wish I had a "like" button I would use it right now!

I didn't see the video but I am wondering if Jeff has been misinterpreted on another web site. Clarence Bass has a piece titled Chef Jeff goes nuts for nuts.

Didi

Thanks for pointing this out.

Clarence and I have communicated regularly over the years and I am quoted on his site in many places and I consider him one of my mentors which I have discussed in this forum.

The "caution" he is referring to under "good fats" was in regard to an article he wrote (#18 on his site) on the use of olive oil, where he is referencing Dr McDougall saying...

"Now, it seems I've stumbled onto something to make my diet even better. Both Dr. McDougall and Dr. Simopoulos say that omega 3 polyunsaturated fat, the kind found in flax seed oil and fatty fish, has been shown to lower blood triglyceride levels."

They sounded as if Dr McD is recommending flax oil and fatty fish. So, I sent him a link to an article Dr McDougall wrote on fats to show that he does not recommend fatty fish or flax oil.

Clarence calls this article, "excellent."

"Chef Jeff (Novick) called my attention to an excellent seven page article by the McDougall Wellness Center on essential fatty acids (EFAs). "

http://cbass.com/TRIGLYCE.HTM

The article of mine he is discussing in the article he wrote, that you mentioned above...

http://cbass.com/GONUTS.HTM

... is my article and was written by me in November 1998 and discusses my recommendations on nuts, which as I said, have gone back many many years and have not changed.

He also references earlier comments of mine, at this article.

http://cbass.com/BADDIET.HTM

It is in regard to this earlier article, that he is implying my position has softened.

However, all of the comments in this article are in relation to Clarence adding some olive oil to his diet, not nuts and seeds. As we all know, many people lump nuts and seeds together with olive oil as "good fats," but they are not one and the same nor do I lump them together and their differences is a distinction I clearly make.

Also, at the time these articles were written, I was the Director of Nutrition at the Pritikin Longevity Center and had worked hard to get Pritikin to "add" nuts/seeds to their recommendations in the amounts I still recommend.

So, my position on fats has not softened, though the C Bass article seems to imply that. My position on olive oil remains the same as it was then, which is to avoid it and my position on nuts and seeds has remained the same as it was then, as outlined in the DVD's and in this forum.

In Health
Jeff

Jeff, I did have one question from the video.

Granted that nuts are just 'OK' sources of nutrients, almonds ARE high in Vitamin E and Brazil nuts high in selenium (perhaps too high). These are the two nutrients that the CRONometer consistently shows my diet low in.

Is it better to 1. add small amounts of these nuts in and adjust another part of my diet to make up for the increased calorie density or 2. change the setting on the CRONometer to reflect different requirements for a low-fat vegan (as I have done with the protein, fat and calcium settings).

I don't want to short myself on a nutrient I need, but I don't know that the RDAs aren't set too high for someone on a plant-strong unprocessed diet.

Thanks for all the time you've been putting in lately.
Kate

These are excellent questions.

Here is a link to a discussion on Vitamin E

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=6732&p=46828

and here is a link to a discussion on selenium

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=6500&p=67775

If you would like to see more about this, go to this website...

http://nutritiondata.self.com/tools/nutrient-search

Then under "Find Foods:" and under "..that are highest in:"

click on the "nutrient" you are interested in (selenium, vitamin e, etc)

Then go to "... and are lowest in:"

and click on "calories"

Then go to the bottom and under "...based on levels per"

click on 200-calorie serving.

Then click on the food groups you want to check.

This will give you the nutrient density for the nutrient you are looking for.

For Vitamin E, you will see almonds are only "relatively" high per nutrient density. Sunflower seeds, are actually higher per calorie than almonds and that many dark leafy greens (spinach, chard, radicchio, turnips etc) are much higher than both sunflower seeds and almonds.

As you know in the DVD, I point this out during the nutrient density discussion. Greens are so high in nutrient density for most every nutrient so if you are eating enough of them, then why do you also need a lower source too?

This is why if someone is really interested in figuring out these details, I really recommend they use the CRON-O-Meter and analyse their diet to find out exactly where they are and how to make the adjustments they can live with to achieve their goals. The Nutrient Search tool at the NutritionData.com website, is also an excellent tool that you can use together with the CRON-O-Meter, to really help figure this out.

So, I am helping you see the choices, as in the end, the choose will be yours and either way, you would still have my blessings.

In Health
Jeff

Thanks! I bookmarked the selfnutritiondata site. What a great resource !
Kate

Jeff
I really enjoyed this DVD and appreciate your approach to analyzing the data.

Maybe there is no answer to this but I thought I would ask any way

There seems to be a disconnect between the nutritional data and the observational studies. As you pointed out the issues of high caloric density, high saturated fat, High Oleic acid content and an unfavorable omega-6 to omega-3 ratio in most nuts and seeds all point to a characterization as this being a less than ideal nutrient source especially in what would expect for heart disease. However the population studies you cited indicate a benefit to preventing heart disease.

How were those studies structured?
If those people substituted 1 ounce of nuts a day for an equivalent caloric intake of an egg mcmuffin then this all makes sense. However if they instead gave up the same calories from a baked potato I am confused

I guess I understand your conclusion that it is ok to consume 1 ounce of nuts a day, but If you are already eating a healthy Mcdougall diet is there any advantage to substituting this amount of nuts for say a banana?

Thanks!



I don't see the disconnect at all when all of the information is put into proper perspective and context.

Observational studies make associations and do not define (or structured to find) cause and effect.

At the amounts consumed in the observational studies, it is easy to see how the potential good could easily outweigh any potential negative, which I discuss in the DVD.

For every potential negative issue discussed, I tried to put it in perspective.

For example, for sat fat, I say, while "X" nut may be high in saturated fat, if one was to only consume an ounce or two as part of an otherwise healthy diet, low in sat fat, would that amount of sat fat from the "X" nuts be enough to cause a problem?

No!

However, if "X" nut was consumed in the amount of 4 or more oz per day, at that level, could the amount of sat fat from the "X" nut be a potential issue?

Maybe.

I also discussed this issue again in the addendum's.



This is also covered in the DVD.

Observational studies (which only show associations) lead researchers to conduct randomized controlled trials to see if their observations about associations are correct. Many of these controlled studies have now been done on nuts. I discuss the two recent meta-analysis on nuts, one looking at 18 studies and the most recent one looking at 25 RCT's. I show the statistical results and put those into real life perspectives, which is more eye opening.

In other words, while a drop of 5% may be reported as statistically significant in the study, to a person with a cholesterol of 300, it is only a drop of 15 points and they are still at a level of 285, which is still high risk.



That was not my conclusion

And I also discussed 5 addendum's to my conclusions which covered the full spectrum of possibilities and options. So, there was a huge range of conclusions depending on who you are and what your objectives are.



As I said in the DVD, that is a decision you will have to make. And, it depends on the context of your total diet and lifestyle and health.

However, according to the author of the study on the 25 RCT's...

"Greater cholesterol lowering effect is found when nuts replace saturated fat than when olive oil or carbohydrates are replaced"

In Health
Jeff

This was my question. Thanks for clarifyin JN.

Your style of presenting is easy to learn, watch and is entertaining.

Jeff, thank you for the link to that discussion of Vitamin E. I have also analyzed my diet using the CRON-o-Meter and have worried that I needed to eat sunflower seeds every day to get adequate Vitamin E (I had also figured out that 5 cups of cooked turnip greens provide the RDA of Vitamin E, but sprinkling an ounce of sunflower seeds on my oatmeal felt more doable on a daily basis). Your explanation of how the need for Vitamin E varies with the amount of fat one eats was extremely helpful.

Don't know how relevant this is to many people, but...

I've been testing lots of different foods in my diet recently, and it seems that nuts give me joint pain. Just putting it out there for someone who might be having a problem.