Nuts and seeds
This section will talk about all the common nuts and seeds and how healthy they are. At least two servings of nuts and/or seeds should be had per day, because of the unique array of nutrients they offer (rich in essential fatty acids, with a few nuts and seeds especially rich in omega-3), and the fat-soluble vitamins (vitamin E) present in the fats.
Similarly to the Common Whole-food Staples page, the foods will be sorted by value of nutrient density per kcal, which is decided according to protein, omega-3, omega-6, vitamin B complex, vitamin E, calcium, iron, potassium, and zinc levels (more explained below).
It is sorted by calories, instead of weight or volume, because caloric intake is the most prevalent and important metric in food plans, important to know to be able to fit all the required nutrients inside our usual daily caloric intake. Therefore, foods with the highest nutrient density per kcal are ranked higher, because they would make fitting all the nutrients we need in our daily caloric intake easier.
When taking into consideration the nutrients to determine how good a certain nut or seed is, proteins, omega-3, omega-6, vitamin B complex, vitamin E, calcium, iron, potassium, and zinc are the ones observed--this is because these represent both the nutrients that are mainly sourced from nuts and seeds (and usually less so from other foods, especially when it comes to the essential fatty acids and vitamin E), and the nutrients that are usually not easy to get enough of. Unlike the staples, though, vitamin A is not considered, as nuts and seeds have no amount or negligible amount of vitamin A.
A higher value is placed on calcium and zinc (calcium as the highest), as those are usually the hardest target to hit. Potassium is given a lower weight because, while hitting the recommended 4700mg/day RDA is very hard, 3400mg/day is an already sufficient RDA, and hitting a high enough value of potassium is easier on a vegan diet than not. Iron is given a higher weight than potassium because, while usually getting enough iron is pretty easy, iron has a worse absorption rate than on a non-vegan diet by a multiplier of 0.65-0.8 (if you want to read more about it), not eating vitamin C alongside iron-rich foods or drinking caffeinated drinks close to iron-rich meals affects the absorption of iron negatively by a very significant amount, iron is often sourced mainly from staples, and women during the menstrual cycle can easily get iron deficient. So, all in all, it is better to play it safe and give iron a significant enough weight--and while being a male that does not drink caffeinated drinks, eats vitamin C-rich foods alongside meals, and eats a good amount of food (good amount of iron) throughout the day would mean there is no worry whatsoever for iron, that is not always the case.
Protein is given a low weight, because it is very easy to reach the RDA of it, but still important enough because it is mainly sourced from staples and more of it correlates with feeling more full.
Vitamin B complex is given a lower weight than vitamin E, as vitamin E is usually harder to hit if not eating specific vitamin E-rich foods (mainly nuts and seeds), while B vitamins can be had in good quantities from plenty of foods (but staples are usually still the main source). Vitamin B complex is calculated as the average %RDA of the B vitamins, to give a good idea of how rich/poor a food is in B vitamins; (B1% + B2% + B3% + B5% + B6% + folate%) / 6.
Omega-3's RDA is hard to hit if not eating specifically omega-3-rich foods, and those foods are by far mainly represented by nuts and seeds. Vitamin E is not only not easy to hit optimal amounts of, but, like omega-3 fatty acids, nuts and seeds represent the best and most efficient source of vitamin E. Omega-6, instead, has a significantly lower weight, because it is very easily obtained through processed foods and added oils--and while a fully whole-foods diet would not have those (in which case a higher attention would have to be placed on meeting the RDA of omega-6), people generally do include some processed food products in their diet and/or add some oils to their cooking.
Unlike in the staples' classification, amount of fat for fat soluble vitamins' absorption is not considered, as nuts and seeds all have more than enough fat for optimal absorption of fat soluble vitamins (> 6g of fat per 100% RDA of fat soluble vitamin--more explained in the staple classification page).
There are diminishing returns when a nutrient surpasses their optimal range per 100 kcal, as it is less important to eat more of it the more you already have. Everything is based on eating 100 kcal of the food, but the optimal threshold--after which there are diminishing returns--is based on 300 kcal meaning you would get 100% of what the staple has to offer, as at least 300 kcal/day of eating a nuts and/or seeds is reasonable (roughly 1/7 of the daily calories, e.g. 3 tbsp of peanut butter + 1 tbsp hemp seeds, or 2 tbsp of almond butter + 1 tbsp flax seed = 300 kcal).
NOTE: you can and will get these nutrients when eating other foods throughout the day, too. It is not required that a certain nut or seed be in optimal range for it to be good enough, a nut/seed being in optimal range of a nutrient merely means it is exceptionally good when it comes to such nutrient, and it covers the entirety of the day for the RDA of the nutrient with 300 kcal, thus not having to worry about the nutrient with other foods if eating a little bit of the nut/seed.
It is important to note that you can prioritize a certain nutrient more or less according to what you are missing, if with a personalized diet plan you are struggling to meet the RDA of a certain nutrient--in which case, the Final Value of Nutrient Density / kcal would not represent what is best for your specific case, and you can instead sort for the nutrient of most interest.
| [Expand]Equation to determine Final Value of Nutrient Density / kcal |
|---|
| Name | Final Value of Nutrient Density / kcal | Proteins (grams) / 100 kcal | Omega-3 (RDA) / 100 kcal | Omega-6 (RDA) / 100 kcal | Vitamin B complex (average RDA) / 100 kcal | Vitamin E (RDA, mg) / 100 kcal | Calcium (RDA, mg) / 100 kcal | Iron (RDA, mg) / 100 kcal | Potassium (RDA, mg) / 100 kcal | Zinc (RDA, mg) / 100 kcal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Almond butter | 3.28 | 3.4 | 0% | 13% | 3.3% | 26% (3.9) | 6% (56.5) | 4% (0.6) | 3% (121.8) | 5% (0.5) |
| Cashews | 1.78 | 2.7 | 2% | 8% | 3% | 1% (0.2) | 1% (7.8) | 7% (1.0) | 2% (98.4) | 9% (1.0) |
| Chestnuts | 1.01 | 1.3 | 2% | 2% | 7.3% | 1% (0.2) | 1% (11.8) | 2% (0.4) | 5% (241.6) | 2% (0.2) |
| Chia seeds | 7.40 | 3.4 | 229% | 7% | 6.5% | 1% (0.1) | 13% (129.8) | 31% (3.4) | 2% (83.7) | 9% (0.9) |
| Flax seeds | 5.70 | 3.4 | 267% | 7% | 7.8% | 0% (0.1) | 5% (47.8) | 7% (1.1) | 3% (152.2) | 7% (0.8) |
| Hazelnuts | 2.14 | 2.3 | 1% | 8% | 3.3% | 16% (2.4) | 2% (19.0) | 4% (0.7) | 2% (116.9) | 4% (0.4) |
| Hemp seeds, hulled | 6.75 | 5.7 | 105% | 31% | 8.3% | 1% (0.1) | 1% (12.7) | 9% (1.4) | 5% (217.0) | 16% (1.8) |
| Hemp seeds, unhulled | 6.55 | 4.7 | 87% | 19% | 4.3% | 2% (0.3) | 3% (27.6) | 17% (2.7) | 3% (163.3) | 12% (1.3) |
| Macadamia nuts | 0.73 | 1.1 | 2% | 1% | 2.8% | 1% (0.1) | 1% (9.8) | 2% (0.4) | 1% (50.7) | 2% (0.2) |
| Peanut butter | 1.71 | 3.7 | 0% | 12% | 5.3% | 10% (1.5) | 1% (8.2) | 2% (0.3) | 2% (93.3) | 4% (0.4) |
| Pecans | 1.66 | 1.3 | 9% | 16% | 2% | 1% (0.2) | 1% (10.1) | 2% (0.4) | 1% (59.7) | 6% (0.7) |
| Pine nuts (pignolias) | 2.25 | 2.0 | 1% | 29% | 2.5% | 9% (1.4) | 0% (2.4) | 5% (0.8) | 2% (88.7) | 9% (1.0) |
| Pistachio nuts | 1.72 | 3.7 | 2% | 14% | 5.7% | 3% (0.4) | 2% (18.8) | 4% (0.7) | 4% (177.0) | 4% (0.4) |
| Poppy seeds | 5.38 | 3.4 | 3% | 32% | 4.2% | 2% (0.3) | 27% (273.9) | 12% (1.9) | 3% (137.0) | 14% (1.5) |
| Pumpkin seeds, shelled | 2.38 | 5.2 | 1% | 20% | 2.2% | 1% (0.1) | 1% (9.1) | 9% (1.4) | 3% (137.3) | 12% (1.3) |
| Pumpkin seeds, unshelled | 2.99 | 4.2 | 1% | 12% | 0.7% | 7% (1.0) | 1% (12.3) | 5% (0.7) | 4% (206.1) | 21% (2.3) |
| Sesame seeds, hulled | 2.20 | 3.2 | 3% | 24% | 4.5% | 2% (0.3) | 1% (9.5) | 6% (1.0) | 1% (58.6) | 10% (1.1) |
| Sesame seeds, unhulled | 4.36 | 3.1 | 4% | 22% | 5.8% | 0% (0.0) | 17% (170.2) | 16% (2.5) | 2% (81.7) | 12% (1.4) |
| Sunflower seeds | 4.39 | 3.6 | 1% | 23% | 11.2% | 40% (6.0) | 1% (13.4) | 6% (0.9) | 2% (110.4) | 8% (0.9) |
| Walnuts | 4.91 | 2.3 | 87% | 34% | 3.2% | 1% (0.1) | 1% (15.0) | 3% (0.4) | 1% (67.4) | 4% (0.5) |
