Almonds vs Pecans – Which is Healthier?

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Our Verdict

When comparing almonds to pecans, we picked the almonds.

Why?

In terms of macros, almonds have more protein, carbs, and fiber, as well as the lower glycemic index. A strong start for almonds here, though pecans have more fat (and the healthy blend of fats is quite comparable from one nut to the other).

In the category of vitamins, almonds have more of vitamins B2, B3, B9, E, and choline, while pecans have more of vitamins A, B1, B5, B6, and K. Numerically that’s a tie, though the biggest margins of difference are for vitamins A and E, respectively, and we might want to prioritize almonds’ extra vitamin E, over pecans’ extra vitamin A, given that vitamin A is more easily found in large quantities in many foods, whereas vitamin E is not quite so abundant generally. So in short, either a tie or a slight win for almonds here.

When it comes to minerals, both contain a lot of goodness, but almonds have more calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and selenium, while pecans have more copper, manganese, and zinc. A clear win for almonds, though as we say, pecans are also great for this, just not as great as almonds.

As a side-note, both of these nuts have been found to have anticancer properties against breast cancer cell lines. In all likelihood this means they help against other cancers too, but breast cancer is what the extant research has been for.

So, naturally, enjoy either or both (in fact, both is ideal). But if you want to choose one for nutritional density, it’s almonds.

Want to learn more?

You might like to read:

Why You Should Diversify Your Nuts

Take care!

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    For any thinking “that wasn’t on the list”… It was hidden! It comes with curcumin’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant powers.

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    You didn’t ask this, but it’ll be helpful for understanding if we quickly cover this first.

    • Turmeric root is just that: a root, which contains abundant phytochemicals, and/but is not at all standardized in dosage
    • Curcumin extract, on the other hand, have been standardized, optimized, and are metabolized much more quickly

    …which latter can be a problem, because it’s been taken apart and used for scrap metabolites faster than the body could actually make use of the curcumin as-is.

    The black pepper hack fixes this, by the way, because of how it improves absorption.

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    Check out:

    Turmeric (Curcumin) Dos and Don’ts With Dr. Kim

    Enjoy!

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