5 Tips for Buying and Storing Nuts & Seeds

By Danielle Cockerill, CHN


We all know that nuts and seeds are a healthy, nutritious addition to our snacks and meals. They are a rich source of vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, protein and fibre. They also contain certain phytochemicals (phyto,  meaning plant) that are known antioxidants, are anti-inflammatory and anti-viral(1). But here’s the thing: These dainty little nuts and seeds are delicate, so need a little tender love and care when purchasing and storing them to ensure their nutrient value is preserved and working FOR your health – instead of against it. These 5 tips will help guide you the next time you stock up on this delicious snack.

 
 

 1.     Choose Raw

I can hear you screaming already… “BUT ROASTED NUTS TASTE SO MUCH BETTER!!” Yes! I completely agree with you but once a nut or seed is roasted, the structure has changed and the healthy polyunsaturated fats (aka PUFAs) are more easily oxidized and go rancid quicker. It is recommended that roasted nuts & seeds are consumed within 2 weeks – and who knows how long ago the ones on the shelf were roasted.

Clients at The Nourished Brain are taught to purchase them raw and to roast them at lower temperatures for a longer time, rather than high and fast roasted. One study found that high temperature roasting (325℉ or higher) decreases antioxidant capacity and can lead to compounds in your nuts and seeds that increase oxidation and are damaging to your body (and brain) cells (2). One of the compounds this study found after high temp roasting was acrylamide – a compound that The US National Toxicology Program (NTP) has classified as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.”. The good news though is the same study found that a healthy nut can still be achieved by roasting on lower temperatures (250-320℉).

a healthy nut can still be achieved by roasting on lower temperatures (250-320℉)

2.     Do the Sniff Test

If you purchase your nuts & seeds from the bulk aisle or bulk store, or if you’re grabbing that old package from the back of your pantry, give them the sniff test to check if they’ve gone rancid. Rancid nuts can smell sour or fishy, like paint, paint thinner or nail polish, or some find they smell like wet cardboard, wood varnish or play dough. If you’re picking up any of these scents at the store, please put that scoop down. And if you’re sniffin’ your ones at home and it’s not-so-good, please toss them in the compost bin.

Rancid nuts can smell sour or fishy, like paint, paint thinner or nail polish, or some find they smell like wet cardboard, wood varnish or play dough

 

3.     Soak & Activate

Have you heard of antinutrients? Antinutrients are compounds that interfere with your body’s ability to absorb nutrients and can impair digestion. Unfortunately, nuts & seeds contain a few of these. The antinutrients contained in nuts & seeds are mother nature’s way of protecting them from predators like insects and birds. Phytic acid is an antinutrient on the outer coating of the nut or seed and reduces your body’s ability to absorb certain minerals like iron, zinc and calcium. It also inhibits enzymes we need to digest food. Tannins are another antinutrient in some nuts that in small amounts have been reported to have good qualities like being antimicrobial and anticarcinogenic, but in large quantities inhibit digestive enzymes and effect the way your body utilizes vitamins and minerals (3). Goitrogens, lectins, and aflatoxins are some other antinutrients that can be found in nuts and seeds.

BUT HERE’S THE GOOD NEWS: most antinutrients are water soluble – meaning they can be reduced when foods are soaked and rinsed! Soaking your nuts and seeds starts the germination process, reducing their antinutrient content and increasing the bioavailability (your body’s ability to absorb) of vitamins and minerals.

You can purchase already activated nuts and seeds at your local health food store or soak and activate them at home. I’ve creating a mini-guide on how to do this at the end of this article. Do I think this is an absolute crucial step? No, not really – but it is highly suggested for people who are trying to nourish their digestive system, people who have nutrient deficiencies and the plant-based lovers of the world, since they are often eating more grains, nuts and seeds (and may be putting themselves at risk of iron, zinc and calcium deficiency). If you can’t purchase activated nuts, or don’t have the time/care to activate them yourself, weigh the pros and cons of eating them inactivated and choose for yourself!

most antinutrients are water soluble – meaning they can be reduced when foods are soaked and rinsed!

4.     Glass Containers Only, Please

So you’ve sniffed, purchased and activated your raw nuts – now don’t you dare put them back in that plastic container, and here’s why: Plastic contains chemicals such as phthalates, bisphenol-A (BPA), and the swap out for when the BPA-free craze started – bisphenol-S (BPS) which is looking like it may have the same effects as BPA. These chemicals can leach out of plastic, especially when warmed (like sitting in your hot car since you’ve stored some in a plastic bag for a quick snack), and toxins especially like to store themselves in fatty foods… like nuts and seeds. These chemical compounds can affect neurogenesis (new neurons being formed in the brain) from embryo to adulthood and can interfere with learning processes, memory and mood as they can disturb the proper functioning of the nervous system (4).

Micro- and nano-plastics can also break down from plastic containers and bags, hang out in your food and be ingested. Studies have shown that some of these tiny plastics can cross the blood-brain barrier (5), especially in marine-life and some mammals. While more studies are needed on the effects of this in humans, I think I’ll stick to glass containers for now. I use mason jars or reused pickle jars for storing mine.

chemical compounds from plastic can affect neurogenesis and can interfere with learning processes, memory and mood - Choose glass containers instead

5.     Keep ‘em Chill

Keeping your raw or roasted nuts & seeds in the fridge will keep them fresh for way longer! And after all the work you’ve put into purchasing, activating and storing them properly – why wouldn’t you want that?

Roasted nuts will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks, raw for about 3 months (do the sniff test again if it’s coming close to that time), and in the freezer for about a year.

Keeping your raw or roasted nuts & seeds in the fridge will keep them fresh for way longer

If all of this seems very new to you, that’s ok! If you’ve only ever purchased already roasted nuts, in bulk, and kept them in your cupboard in a plastic bag for months, don’t worry – that was me too. Start small, choose just two of these to start and add another step when you’re ready. In my opinion, the two easiest to start with are the sniff test and keep them refrigerated. Can I suggest you start there?