How dangerous is overdosing on nuts (peanuts, etc.)?

[Tasaio]

Greetings! I've been on a lacto-vegetarian diet since summer 2006.

But since Christmas, I've started to switch to a raw-food diet...

To that end, I bought various nuts to snack on, instead of chocolate bars and the like.

Unfortunately, keeping the package of peanuts next to my computer was just too tempting -- today, in a single day, I finished the entire 1L-sized package!

Now, the peanuts were "dry roasted and unsalted" -- healthier than usual.

Unfortunately, the nutritional statistics are as follows:

For every 1/3 cup of peanuts...I'll get 40% of my daily required fat (23% saturated fat).

This container looks to be about the size of a 1L pop bottle. Since this would include several full cups of peanuts...well, I shudder to think of my fat intake for today.

The way I see, other people are intaking this much fat through other means (burgers, fries, chips, chocolate bars), that overdosing on my first day won't kill me.

Nonetheless, I'd like to know the health benefits/disadvantages of intaking large quantities of nuts.

What can I expect in terms of weight gain and side effects? Will I turn into an elephant overnight?

Thanks in advance.

[John Hill]

I wouldn't worry about what other people are eating or turning into an elephant overnight, however it would be a good idea to limit your nut intake to no more than a handful each day. Most nuts are around 50% fat, 50% protein but it's the type of natural fat your body can use for energy as opposed to the saturated fat found in french fries.

By eating small regular meals 5-6 times a day you could easily spread a handful of nuts out through the day by eating a few after every meal. This will not result in extra fat gain. Drinking water in between your meals will also increase your metabolism and would therefore allow you to eat some extra nuts if you like them so much.

In general, nuts are healthy form of protein and an ok form of fat if eaten in moderation.

John

[marktb]

Rotate your nuts or you will develop an allergy to one kind. Stay away from peanuts unless organic. Personally, I enjoy brazil, walnut and hazelnut.

Mark Baldwin

[escapee]

Fat found in French fried is mostly Trans fatty acid , not saturated fat ..

[C33]

I became allergic to cashew nuts overnight, after eating a whole bowl of them.

I came in for work @ 2 pm,having eaten nothing the whole day, was ravenous, but the only vegetarian food available was a bowl of cashew nuts. I ate nothing else the rest of the day, and had a rather bad allergy attack in the night when my tongue swell up dangerously as well as the balls of my feet. Couldn t walk for 24 hours and after that looked like Charlie Chaplin!

I don't know it there is any medical, rational explanation to this phenomenon as I had always eaten cashew nuts in the past and had no problems whatsoever. Yet it was the first time I ate that much.

[Cron]

Peanuts aren't nuts, they are legumes.