Non-Dairy Butter—Nut Butter

Raw, hulled nuts, such as Almonds, Cashews, Peanuts or English Walnuts

Coconut oil

Raw Orange Blossom or Raw Clover Honey

Sea salt

Filtered water

ENGLISH WALNUTS

Nutritional Benefits

Walnuts are extremely nutrient-dense.  They are a wonderful source of antioxidants, vitamin E, minerals such as manganese, copper, phosphorous, and magnesium, and monounsaturated fats.  The walnut is one of the few nuts that contain omega-3 fatty acids and alph-linolenic acid.

Walnuts are also a rich source of protein and dietary fiber and have no dietary cholesterol.

Health Benefits

Naturopathic doctors have utilized the benefits of Walnuts to feed the brain. Naturopathic and the Mediterranean diet have use Walnuts for lowering cholesterol, LDL, and lipoprotein a (Lp(a), a form of lipoprotein that is even a more serious risk for heart disease than LDL).

Arginine is an essential amino acid present in walnuts.  This amino acid is converted into nitric oxide, a chemical that allows the blood vessels to relax, remain smooth, and present platelet aggregation.  This effect on cholesterol and blood vessels may be the hidden mechanism of the walnut’s cardiovascular protective properties.

Walnuts are also rich in antioxidants, in particular ellagic acid.  Ellagic acid can impede the metabolic pathways that can usher the way to cancer and heart disease.  It does so by protecting healthy cells from free-radical damage, helping to detoxify potential cancer-causing substances, and preventing cancer cells from multiplying.

Safety

Walnuts contain moderate amounts of oxalate.  Individuals with a history of oxalate-containing kidney stones should avoid over-consuming them.

CASHEWS

Nutritional Benefits

The Cashew nuts are a very good source of monounsaturated fats.  They are also a good source of many minerals, including copper, magnesium, potassium, iron, and zinc.   In addition, cashew nuts are a food source of biotin and protein.

Health Benefits

The health benefits of cashews center around their excellent nutritional value.  Cashew nuts have a lower fat content and a higher protein and carbohydrate content than most other nuts.

The fat that they do contain is mostly (65 percent) derived from oleic acid, a monounsaturated oil with known benefits in protecting against heart disease and cancer.  Although cashew nuts are lower in vitamin E and calcium than most nuts, they are a good source of protein, magnesium potassium, iron, and zinc.

ALMONDS

Nutritional Benefits

Almond’s High fat content (up to 60 percent) translates to a high calorie content.  Almonds are packed full of nutrition.  They are an excellent source of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils, protein, potassium magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, and vitamin E.  Almonds are also a good source of important antioxidant flavanoids and 2 to 4 percent amygdalin, which is better known as laetrile.  These components have resulted in the almond’s reputation as an anti-cancer food.

A 1/3-cup serving of shelled almonds contains 280 calories, 24 grams of fat, 9 grams of protein, and 10 grams of carbohydrate.

Health Benefits

Almonds appear quite useful in fighting against heart disease.  In the most recent study, the effects of roasted, salted almonds and roasted almond butter were compared with that of raw almonds on blood lipid levels.  All subjects were given 100 grams of one of three forms of almonds for four weeks.   All three forms of almonds significantly lowered low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) from baseline to the completion of the study.  Both raw and roasted almonds significantly lowered total cholesterol, whereas the decrease by almond butter did not reach statistical significance.  High-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) did not significantly change with raw or roasted almonds but slightly increased with almond butter.  These results suggest that unbalanced almonds—whether raw, dry-roasted, or in roasted butter form—can play an effective role in cholesterol—lowering, plant-based diets.

Almonds may help fight many cancers.  In an animal study of the effect of almonds on colon cancer, animals were exposed to a colon cancer—causing agent and fed almond meal, almond oil, whole almonds, or a control diet containing no almonds.  The animals given whole almonds showed fewer signs of colon cancer, including fewer rapidly dividing cells.  One reason may be the almond’s high fiber content—just ¼ cup of almonds contains 4 grams of fiber.

PEANUTS

Nutritional Benefits

Peanuts are composed of half fat, a quarter protein, and the rest carbohydrate.  They contain plentiful healthy monosaturated fats.  Moreover, they yield good levels of biotin, tocopherols, folic acid, vitamins B1 and B3, and the trace minerals magnesium, phosphorus, and manganese.

One—third cup of shelled peanuts contains 280 calories, 24 grams of fat, and 11 grams of protein.  Two tablespoons of peanut butter provide 190 calories 7 grams of fat, and 8 grams of protein.

Health Benefits

A food high in protein, monosaturated fat, and the antioxidant reservratrol, the peanut is showing itself to be an able protector of the human heart and blood vessels.  One study of subjects who consumed a diet that emphasized peanuts, in both nut and butter form, for one month demonstrated that their risk of heart disease dropped by around 21 percent compared to those people who ate typical American fare. Another study, in which the subjects were given two ro three servings of peanuts or peanut butter for one month, also found reductions in “bad” LDL cholesterol with maintenance of “good” HDL cholesterol. Triglycerides, which are another risk factor for heart disease, also dropped.

COCONUT OIL

Medical Benefits

1)    The roots are used for dysentery and other intestinal complaints.

2)    A poultice made from the bark is used for toothaches and earaches, while ash of the bark is used as a dentifrice and an antiseptic and to treat scabies.

3)    Nourishing and easily digested, the cabbage of coconut oil (actually the buds cut from the top of the tree), is a cooling diuretic that is often served as a salad vegetable and is also used to make pickles and a native stew called gulay.

4)    The astringent flowers are used in the treatment of dysentery, urinary infection, diabetes, and leprosy, while the unopened flower stalks are distilled to produce a spirit called arrak.

5)    The fibers of the truck are used as a diuretic, in the treatment of tapeworm, and to soothe an inflamed throat.

6)    A native medicine made from burning the shell of the coconut in one receptacle while condensing the volatile products that separate out in another is used to treat a number of skin diseases and to relieve toothaches caused by dental caries.

7)    The milky liquid inside the coconut, call coconut water, is astringent and slightly acidic when fresh but soon loses its astringency.  This fluid, which is 95 percent water, holds in solution proteins, sugars, and salts and is used as a diuretic and a treatment for intestinal worms and urinary disorders.

8)    The sap of the coconut palm stimulates peristalsis and acts as mild laxative.

9)    Externally, coconut oil is used as a vehicle for liniments in skin medicines, for strengthening the hair, and to make a shampoo in combination with the bark of a native tree, Entada phaseoloides, commonly called gogo, which is high in saponin and produces a lather that cleanses the scalp very effectively.

Nutritional Benefits

Coconuts contain significant amounts off  fat, but unlike other nuts, which contain mostly long—chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, coconuts provide fat that is almost all in the form of health—promoting medium—chain saturated fats. 

Coconuts are an excellent source of manganese, molybdenum, and copper.   It is also a good source of selenium and zinc.

Health Benefits

Coconut oil has been cleared of developing cardiovascular disease.

Coconut oil was implicated in raising cholesterol levels along with the saturated fats found in meats when a researcher in Minnesota fed rats’ fully hydrogenated coconut oil and saw a dramatic rise in the rats’ cholesterol levels.    Although Harvard scientists later reviewed this study and concluded that the cholesterol—raising factor was not coconut oil per se but the fact that it had been fully hydrogenated and purposely altered to make it completely devoid of any essential fatty acids, coconut oil was labeled as an artery-clogging fat.

In addition to the now well—recognized harmful cardiovascular effects of hydrogenated fats, current research has shown that any diet that causes an essential fatty acid deficiency will also cause a significant increase in blood cholesterol levels when fed to animals.  Yet despite the fact that the initial study generated misinformation about coconut oil and other studies in which fresh/raw coconut oil was used showed that natural coconut oil not only does not case an increase in cholesterol but increases levels of beneficial HDL cholesterol, coconut oil continues to have a bad and undeserved reputation as an unhealthy saturated fat.

Coconuts have been shown to have antiviral effects against sexually transmitted diseases, including Chlamydia trachomatis, herpes simplex 1 and herpes simplex 2, Neisseria gonorrhea, and HIV.

Many viruses, bacteria, and protozoa are enveloped by a protective membrane composed of lipids (fats).  Current research indicates that the medium—chain fatty acids and the monoglycerides produced from them in the body destroy these pathogens by dissolving the lipids and phospholipids in the fatty envelope surrounding them, causing them to disintegrate.

The antiviral properties of the medium—chain fatty acids abundant in coconut have been found to be so potent that they are now being investigated as a treatment for AIDS patients.

Coconut oil also protects against heart disease and promotes weight loss.

Coconut’s medium—chain fats are easily absorbed and preferentially used as an energy source, their burning actually increases the body’s metabolic rate.

RAW HONEY

Honey may be found in a Varity of colors like red, tan, brown, and even nearly black.  Incredible, each bee makes on average about only 1/12 teaspoon of a honey in its entire lifetime.  Enzymes in the bee saliva then create a chemical reaction that turns this nectar into honey, which is deposited into the walls of the hive.  Incredibly rapid movement of the bees’ wings aerates of the honey, which decreases its water content and makes it ready to eat. Typical choices include heather, alfalfa, clover, Orange Blossom, wild flowers and the acacia flower.  Less common but well—known flowers that confer their own special taste characteristics on the honey include thyme and lavender.

Nutritional Benefits

Raw honey is a source of riboflavin and vitamin B6.  It also provides iron and manganese.

Medicinal uses

For at least 2700 years, honey has been used to treat a variety of ailments through topical application. Scientific explanation now, understood that the folk remedy of using honey to treat wounds: it acts as an antiseptic/antibacterial agent. As an antimicrobial agent honey has potential for treating a variety of ailments, including MRSA. Antibacterial properties of honey are the result of the low water activity causing osmosis, the hydrogen peroxide effect, and high acidity. There are some studies that suggest that the use of honey may reduce odors, swelling, and scarring; it has also been suggest that honey may prevent the dressing from sticking to the healing wound.

Here are some more studies that suggest different ways of using Raw Honey:

1)    One drop of raw honey directly on the eye can treat mild forms of conjunctivas.

2)    Raw Honey combined with raw lemon juice can be taken orally by people suffering from Pharyngitis (sore throat) and Laryngitis (inflammation of the larynx), to soothe them.

3)    Raw Dark Honey in particular, such as buckwheat honey, is a rich source of phenolic compounds, such as flavanoids, that exert significant antioxidant activity.  A recent human trail showed that daily consumption of honey actually improves blood antioxidant levels and helps prevent lipid peroxidation.  Lipid peroxidation, the damaging of lipids (such as cholesterol) by free radicals is central to the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis.  Raw honey’s ability to prevent lipid peroxidation may translate into a protective effect against atherosclerosis, since oxidized cholesterol is a well-known risk factor for this cardiovascular disease.

Engeseth, of the University of Illinois at Urbana—Champaign, Illinois, determined that oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) found that the darkest—colored honeys, such as buckwheat raw honey, have the highest ORAC values, which are related to the amount of phenolic compounds they contain.  The human trail, also led by Engeseth, showed that the higher a honey’s ORAC activity, the better able it was to inhibit lipoprotein (cholesterol) oxidation.  Engeseth’s research suggests that raw honey could be used as a healthy alternative to sugar and serve as a source of dietary antioxidants in many products.

4)    As Energy—Enhancing Effect raw honey is an excellent source due to the readily available carbohydrate, a chief source of quick energy. One group of researchers investigated the use of honey as a performance aid in athletes.  The study involved a group of thirty-nine weight-trained athletes, both male and female.  Subjects underwent an intensive weight—lifting workout and then immediately consumed a protein supplement blended with sugar, maltodextrin, or raw honey as the carbohydrate source.  The honey group maintained optimal blood sugar levels throughout the tow hours following the workout.  In addition, muscle recuperation and glycogen restoration (carbohydrates stored in muscle) was favorable in those individuals consuming the honey—protein combination.

5)    The wound—healing properties of raw honey may be its most promising medicinal quality.  Raw honey has been used topically as an antiseptic therapeutic agent for the treatment of ulcers, burns, and wounds for centuries.