Whether you are following a whole food plant-based diet or minimally processed, omnivorous diet, I strongly recommend adding nuts and seeds into the equation. Not only will it have profound effects on long-term health, but so will your mood, energy, and training performance improve.
As I researched nutritional science in greater detail, I came to the understanding that whole foods should be emphasized, as opposed to processed. Unfortunately, this includes oils (even the better ones like extra virgin olive and avocado). The oil lacks important phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals, etc. It isolates the fat content from the original, superior whole food. Why consume avocado oil when you can simply eat the avocado? Why use sesame oil when you can eat sesame seeds? A common argument is that oil is responsible for the powerful health effects of the Mediterranean diet. In reality, it’s the whole plant foods that accumulate such effects, and when oils are swapped for nuts and seeds, even greater health benefits are observed. On a side note, did you know that in the Adventist health study, vegans who consumed nuts and seeds had the longest lifespans? This should get you thinking about whole foods, my friends.
I now want to discuss what happened to me upon lowering overall fat intake. Used to fry all my foods in oil, and would constantly add it to the meal itself (rice, pasta, salads, sauces, etc). I discontinued both practices in favor of “water frying” or using vegetable broth, while simultaneously minimizing oil intake to a teaspoon a day (or none at all). One would expect that I felt better, but in truth my energy was sub-par. For a man of my strength and build, the fat intake was far too low. That’s when it finally clicked, I needed to replace the oils for whole foods. In my case (and for many of you), the missing link was raw nuts and seeds. By introducing these into my diet, everything was back to normal, with the added health bonuses. Many of these nuts and seeds are rich in phytochemicals, minerals, lignans, and omega-3 fatty acids, all of which have been shown to extended human lifespan and fight against various diseases. This was the ultimate game changer for me! I also found nut butters to be powerful in accumulating easy calories, fat, and protein. To get straight to the point, you should frequently eat raw nuts and seeds. Make sure you soak them, and then it’s time to have fun!
Some practical recommendations is to add nuts and seeds directly to your salads, rather than using oils and heavy dressing. This further boosts the effects of the salad, as there will be a synergistic effect. You may also want to add these foods to your oatmeal, shakes, and even sauces. In many cases it will be tasteless, or simply enhance the flavor. You can even make delicious sauces from scratch, all nut-based. Some of my favorite nuts include walnuts, pistachios, pine nuts, almonds, and cashews. For seeds, I absolutely love chia seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds, and pumpkin seeds. These are the staples that I regularly consume, and I recommend you do the same! With regular consumption of nuts and seeds comes unique recipes and food combinations. Experiment, and enjoy the wonderful benefits!
I have IBS. Nuts, seeds and vegetables make me sick. I mainly eat beef, pork, chicken, butter and for carbs white rice and a few pieces of dried fruit. Following a vegetarian diet would kill me.
Spitting truth Alex! Good to see you aren’t afraid to change your views when the facts contradict your opinion. Sadly most meat-eaters suffer from cognitive dissonance and prefer to eat their class 1A carcinogenic red meat and lie to themselves that it’s good for them.
Side note – I just bought myself a home gym. Transitioning from a calisthenics background. Do you think I should do a 5×5 with deadlifts, squats, benchpress, 3×3-5 weighted chinups, 5×60 farmer walks and 3×20 wrist curls (neck training too) or follow the novice program? I don’t have a trap bar or a box so I’d be doing regular deadlifts and squats onto a bench. Also, do you think it would be harmful for my gains to train with weights 1 week and then calisthenics the second?
Cheers.
Would like to add that your body can adapt in a week or two to the ‘anti-nutrient’ content of nuts and seeds so soaking isn’t necessary. The compounds themselves are also beneficial for your health.
Thanks for the feedback Tom!
To answer your question, the routine you described sounds perfectly fine (I’d recommend 1-2×5 instead of 5×5 deadlifts though) especially if you’re a novice at lifting. This or my novice program will work, the choice is entirely up to you. In regards to alternating calisthenics and weight training, it might slow down the progress unless you’re doing weighted calisthenics with similar workload. My advice is to lift Monday and Friday, while performing weighted calisthenics on Wednesdays. You can also add greasing the groove pushups and pullups for extra volume, or even adding additional calisthenics at the end of each workout. Wishing you the best of gains brother!
But alex how can we include nuts in our meals
Especially small ones ?
Putting sesame in bread for example.
In bread, it’s easiest to use nut butters. For whole foods, sprinkling a handful of nuts and/or adding a tablespoon of seeds is more than enough.