🎉 Our bone broth tested negative for toxic heavy metals! READ MORE & SEE THE RESULTS.

Macadamia nuts are one of the "healthy nuts". Here are 5 scientific reasons why.

written by

Marie Reedell

posted on

June 28, 2024

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Don't eat a lot of nuts... but maybe you kinda miss them? I know I do. 

It's so much work to soak and dehydrate them at home (to get rid of the antinutrients). It's easier to just not buy them at all. If you want to purchase presoaked nuts, they're hard to find and prices can be crazy. And then of course there are PUFAs to consider.

I mean, don't you wish almonds didn't have a 2010:1 omega 6/3 ratio? Don't you wish walnuts weren't so ridiculously high in PUFAs? Don't you wish Brazil Nuts didn't have so many oxalates?

Enter macadamia nuts...

Macadamia Nuts are low in antinutrients and omega 6. They are a healthy nut.

Check out how they compare to popular nut options:

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I mean, macadamia nuts undoubtedly come out of top.

Avoid antinutrients, PUFAs, and high omega 6 for the best health possible.

Here's an overview of what each is and why you should avoid it:

PUFAs 

PUFAs, or Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, are a type of fat molecule composed of more than one double bond in their backbone. They are commonly found in many foods, especially vegetable oils like soybean, sunflower, and corn oils. While these fats are essential for our body in certain amounts (since our body can't produce them on its own), the modern Western diet has a disheartening imbalance of these fats, which can have potential health consequences (especially when PUFAs are oxidized): inflammation, oxidative stress, suppressed thyroid function, increased risk of heart diseases and certain cancers, and more.

Lectins

Lectins are part of a plant's defense. It keeps the seeds from being eaten by insects and animals so the plant can reproduce. Lectins are a protein, and they're sticky. They will stick to the intestinal lining and create inflammation and can lead to leaky gut syndrome. Lectins are also associated with insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.

Oxalates

Oxalates are chelators. They bind to calcium and then you (usually) poop them out. If oxalate does not bind to calcium and you don't have enough liquid in your pee, then kidney stones will form. Oxalates can cause stress and cellular damage in your body. They can trigger inflammation, steal minerals, and destroy connective tissue. An oxalate overload can lead to a host of problems like kidney stones, arthritis, joint pain, and osteoporosis.

Phytic Acid

Phytic acid is an antinutrient. It's an organic acid that binds phosphorous within. It's found mostly in the bran or hulls of seeds. Untreated phytic acid can combine with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc in the intestinal tract and block their absorption. This is why a diet high in improperly prepared nuts and whole grains may lead to serious mineral deficiencies and bone loss. The modern misguided practice of consuming large amounts of unprocessed bran often improves colon transit time at first but may lead to irritable bowel syndrome and, in the long term, many other adverse effects.

Omega 6/3 Ratio

Omega 3 and omega 6 are essential fatty acids (also in the PUFA category) necessary for your health, and they can only be obtained through food. But, when eaten out of proportion, it can cause a plethora of chronic health issues: inflammation, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, arthritis, asthma, depression, fatigue... the list goes on and on. The modern American diet typically provides a shocking 20:1 omega 6/3 ratio. But, humans should eat a 1:1-4:1 ratio. We can only do this by being aware of our food choices.

Soaking nuts can remove antinutrients... but it's time consuming.

Soaking nuts, grains, seeds, and beans has been commonplace in indigenous cultures around the world for thousands of years. It's just what they do. It's likely a result of paying close attention to how your body feels (which is sadly getting lost in the modern word --- there's a pill for that, right?). 

Antinutrients are naturally in a nut for preservation. It helps prevent sprouting until the conditions are right - moist, warm, and slightly acidic. Proper preparation of nuts imitates the process that slowly occurs in nature (more on that below).

How to soak nuts:

  1. Put raw nuts in warm, salted water. You can add a little lemon juice or fermented whey to make the water acidic, too.
  2. Let them soak. The more the antinutrients, the longer you need to soak them to remove 100% of the antinutrients. Almonds should be soaked for a 8-24 hours. But, macadamia nuts only need 1-2 hours of soaking because of the low levels of antinutrients. Once soaked, you can eat them wet. Make hummus or add them to sauces. You can also re-dry them back into a crunchy nut for storage or snacking. 
  3. To dehydrate, spread the nuts on a tray (salting them if you'd like) and keep them between 110-150F. This can be in an oven, a dehydrator, or in the sun! This should take 12-24 hours. You know they're done when they're completely dry and crispy.
  4. Store in an airtight container.

The process of soaking nuts neutralizes phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors. Vitamin content increases, particularly B vitamins. Tannins, complex sugars, gluten and other difficult-to-digest substances are partially broken down into simpler components that are more readily available for absorption.

In short, soaking nuts makes them more nutritious!

Miller's is now offering Raw Hawaiian Macadamia Nuts

We have a direct connection with Ohana Farms, on the big island of Hawaii. They absolutely share our values. The use organic and regenerative farming practices and have an extreme attention to detail. They carefully dehydrate the nuts low and slow to preserve all of the nutrition.

We'll offer raw Hawaiian macadamia nuts for a limited time. If you love them and order them regularly (which I hope you do), we'll keep them around. So, if you're interested, add some to your next order now!

Mmmm... nothing beats the earthy flavor and crunch of a nut.

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References

More from the blog

Our bone broth tested negative for heavy metals 🥳 NATURAL AND CLEAN

Over the past few months a bunch of people asked us if we tested our bone broth for toxic heavy metals. When we get the same question a lot, we of course look into it. My first question was --- Is there an issue with toxic metals in bone broth? As it turns out, yes, there "can" be an issue! Heavy metals are naturally present in our environment. We need the "good" heavy metals to thrive: iron, zinc, magnesium, copper, etc. But, we can 100% do without the toxic heavy metals: arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, etc. Too many toxic heavy metals can lead to a host of pretty awful issues: nervous system damage, cardiovascular issues, cancer, endocrine disruption, kidney damage, and so on. Our body is designed to excrete heavy metals through urine (and a little bit through sweat, hair, and breastmilk too)... but only so much. There's a limit. If you're overloaded, your body will store those heavy metals in your bones, blood, tissues, and organs. Similarly, if an animal is exposed to heavy metals via food, water, air, dust, or soil, those heavy metals accumulate in the bones. Maybe the farm's soil or air is contaminated from a nearby factory. Maybe the pipes for the water has lead solder connecting them. Maybe the feed a farm is buying was grown on contaminated soil or processed on contaminated equipment.  And, of course, a main purpose of bone broth is drawing out as much as possible from the bones. If there are heavy metals in bones, they will make their way into the broth. This is especially true when you pre-soak with apple cider vinegar and simmer for 48 hours to make it thick and gelatinous (like our broth). And that led me to my second question --- Should I be concerned about every bone broth? Where is the fear coming from? Well... it seems it might be a little political. There was a study done in the UK in 2013 that scared a lot of people. It's titled "The Risk of Lead Contamination in Bone Broth Diets". This study found high levels of lead in organic chicken bone broth, which is quite concerning. And, in fact, this one study is still cited in articles written today! Let's dig a little deeper. Let's go farther than the short abstract. Here are the broths tested in the study and their test results for lead:  (9.5 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus skin and cartilage(7.01 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus bones(2.3 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus meat(0.89 parts per billion): Tap water alone cooked for the same amount of time as a control. But, they only used organic chicken from one farm. And, there's zero information about that farm, their practices, the feed, and the broth recipe. Did they use vinegar or wine in the broth? Was the chicken's water contaminated with lead? What was the quality of the feed and the soil? Were the chickens raised indoors or outdoors? So many unanswered questions! All we get is that it was one "organic chicken" that created a lead issue with broth. Another curious thing is that the broth with skin and cartilage contained more lead than the broth made with just bones. Bones are where lead is stored, so why wouldn't the broth made with bones only contain more lead? It's an odd result. Moreover, the abstract of the study specifically called out "bone broth diets" like GAPS and paleo. They even go so far as to write, "In view of the dangers of lead consumption to the human body, we recommend that doctors and nutritionists take the risk of lead contamination into consideration when advising patients about bone broth diets." That's quite curious. Why are they worried about these diets? Are the researchers anti healing through food? Who funded the research? Is it political? My opinion? This study is not comprehensive. It does not speak to all bone broths. But it does cover a potential issue if the water or animals are overloaded with heavy metals. What I glean from this study is that we need more research. We don't need fear to spread and people to stop drinking broth from this one study. Regardless of whether the fear was fabricated or legit, we tested our bone broth anyway. After all, it's always nice to validate that your food choices are as clean as you think. For Miller's, here were my concerns before testing: What if there's mercury in the fishmeal in our chicken feed?What if the soil that our animals live on is contaminated?What is the well water that the broth is made with is contaminated?What if the Celtic sea salt has lots of heavy metals? As it turns out, my fears were thankfully unfounded. Our bone broth tested NEGATIVE for arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury 🥳 🥳 🥳 You can find the test results right here! You'll notice that, for every sample, the results are "<0.01 mg/kg" and "<0.02 mg/kg".  I asked the lab what the "<" means. They said that it indicates their limit of quantitation (LOQ), the lowest concentration that can be accurately tested using the test procedure in that sample type. So the results simply report that none of the metals tested were found in the sample above the specific reporting LOQs. Whether or not they were present below this LOQ is information that is not provided by the test. It's also important to note that a "mg/kg" is the same as a part per billion (ppb). It means that our broths contain less than 0.02 ppb of arsenic and lead and less than 0.01 ppb of cadmium and mercury. I don't think a lower LOQ is needed. I mean, I think we can say it's basically zero. What about you? For some reference, the EPA says that less than 15 ppb of lead is safe in drinking water. Not saying that I agree, but it's a good reference point.  FYI ---> We also tested our ground beef, and it was negative. Why test ground beef? Because if there was an issue with the broth, I wanted to identify right away if meat was an issue too. We of course do not want to give out food contaminated with toxic heavy metals! We'd take immediate action is that were the case. You know what this also means? Someone asked recently about the fishmeal in our chicken feed. Given that fish nowadays can have high mercury content, they were worried about mercury in our eggs and chicken. Since our fishmeal is made from sardines, a small fish that doesn't have time to accumulate mercury, I wasn't overly concerned.  But now with these results, I'm definitely not concerned about mercury in our chicken products! If it's not in the bones and the broth, then it's pretty safe to say that it's not in the eggs or the meat. Do you worry about toxic metals (or other junk) in your food? Where have your fears stemmed from? I'd love to hear from you. You can comment below (no account required) or contact us ðŸ˜Š ----- Sources The risk of lead contamination in bone broth dietsBone Broth and Lead Toxicity: Should You Be Concerned?Bone Broth and Lead Contamination: A Very Flawed Study in Medical HypothesesBone Broth, Collagen, and Toxic Metals: A Research Review

If animals eat wheat, does the gluten transfer to the eggs and meat?

We've been getting this question a good amount lately --- If your chickens and pigs eat wheat, which contains gluten, then do your eggs, chicken, and pork contain gluten, too? Super interesting question. I mean, the saying "you are what you eat" holds true to some extent. But... digestion is the opposite of simple. The short answer is --- Gluten in animal feed does NOT transfer to eggs or meat. Eggs are meat are naturally gluten-free. You see, just like you, when an animal eats gluten, the gluten is broken down into amino acids during digestion. Then, those amino acids are reassembled into a variety of things that support life and growth - proteins, hormones, neurotransmitters, etc. We have anecdotal evidence, too. There are many Miller's customers with Celiac disease or gluten sensitivities that handle our eggs, chicken, and pork without any issues. In fact, some say that our eggs and meat are the only they can tolerate - wow! A little caveat --- cross contamination. Here are two scenarios: What if a butcher uses products on meat or surfaces that contain gluten? I mean the list of approved sanitizers is loooong. This isn't a worry with our foods. Our eggs and chicken only ever touch water. And our pork is washed in organic apple cider vinegar.Can gluten be added to foods like sausages or pies or lunchmeat? Yes. Some baking sodas and spice blends contain gluten. And some trace ingredients (that don't need to be on the label) like maltodextrin or modified food starch may contain gluten. This isn't a worry with our foods. We try to keep things as pure as possible. Intolerances and sensitivities can be complicated. Some people react to parts of gluten, not the whole molecule. During digestion, gluten is broken down into peptides in your intestinal tract. Then, those peptides are broken down into amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of life. They're reassembled (with other things like broken down vitamins and minerals) into important stuff that your body needs - proteins, tissue, enzymes, hormones. People with confusing (and sometimes inconsistent) reactions might be having a reaction to a specific peptide or part of a molecule. It might now be the whole molecule that's giving you trouble! That's why many people with gluten sensitivity do fine with sourdough and/or einkorn (in fact, we even have a customer with Celiac disease that loves our sourdough einkorn crackers). Sourdough partially digests the gluten for you and possibly changes the way your body breaks it down. And einkorn is a heritage grain that contains a completely different kind of gluten compared to conventional wheat - gluten AA. There's actually a certain test you can take to give you more info. It's called a Zoomer test. Instead of simply seeing if you're reacting to a whole protein, it sees how your body responds to individual peptides. Neat! Or maybe people aren't reacting to wheat itself. Rather, they're reacting to chemicals sprayed on wheat. Many people with gluten sensitivity go to Europe and eat all the bread. Why is this? Well, maybe it's because glyphosate is banned in Europe. But here in the US, we're still spraying it on conventional wheat to dry it out quickly and get it ready for harvest. It could be that some people are reacting to a chemical on wheat... not the wheat itself. I mean, glyphosate is known for disrupting the gut! This could explain why some people don't do well with some eggs and meat but do just fine with ours. After all, we have the highest natural standards and aim to give you the purest food possible, down to the nitty gritty. What have you experienced? Are you sensitive or allergic to gluten but can handle eggs and meat? How do our eggs and meat feel for you? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below (no account required - just start typing) or contact us ðŸ˜Š ----- Sources Are Eggs From Grain-Fed Chickens Safe to Eat on a Gluten-Free Diet?Zoomers Food Sensitivity Testing 101: Your Path to Food Sensitivity AwarenessIs RoundUp Giving You a Pain in the Gut?