David PerlmutterPresident,, Perlmutter Health Center · Board-Certified Neurologist | Functional Medicine Pioneer | #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author | International Speaker | Host of The Empowering Neurologist Podcast

How Nutty Should We Be For Nuts?

29 Jun 2013 · 2 min

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1:36

In this segment, neurologist David Perlmutter explains why nuts are valuable for brain health, emphasizing their role in reducing risk of stroke and other neurological disorders. He stresses that dietary fat is essential and that the quality of nuts matters: they should be organic and preferably raw to preserve their beneficial monounsaturated fats. He recommends almonds, pecans, and walnuts as the best choices, citing their high monounsaturated fat content. Perlmutter advises against peanuts, noting that most are genetically modified, are botanically legumes rather than true nuts, and contain phytic acid that can bind minerals and reduce nutrient absorption. The advice aligns with his Grain Brain program’s dietary guidelines.

Chapters

Nuts have been associated in laboratory studies with reducing risk for a variety of brain disorders, including stroke. But beyond that, we know that nuts are a very good source of good fat. And again, we can't shy away from eating fat. Fat is one of the most important components of a healthful diet. When choosing which nuts to eat, First, I think it's very important to go with organic because a lot of times nuts that are not organically raised, grown, have been sprayed with things like fungicides. The next thing would be to consider getting nuts that are raw. When you cook, bake, or however otherwise treat nuts to cook them, oftentimes the oils that are so vitally important become modified and less bioavailable, less good for your health. So the types of nuts that we recommend are good monounsaturated fat containing nuts like pecans and walnuts and almonds. And you'll notice as part of the Grain Brain program you didn't see peanuts and that's because first, lots of peanuts these days are genetically modified and second peanuts aren't actually a nut at all. It's more pea than it is nut and as such contains things like phytic acid that can bind minerals and take them out of your system. So the important nuts are almonds, pecans, walnuts, readily available at your health food store. And again, I would opt for organic.