Nut to Brag, But This Might Be the Best Nut Butter Ever (Spiced with Science!)

But this isn’t just a recipe letter —it’s a sneak attack nutrition lesson, and you butter believe I’ve got the receipts — by which I mean the science. Let's make your kitchen, a lab!

This might be the best nut butter you’ll ever make—just three ingredients, 20 seconds, and packed with science-backed benefits that are “nuts!”

But this isn’t just a recipe—it’s a sneak attack nutrition lesson, and you butter believe I’ve got the receipts — by which I mean references to the scientific literature and linked content where you can dive deeper into topics like the microbiome, visceral fat, urolithin A, omega-6 fats, palmitoleic acid, and ketogenesis, if you find this video appetizing.

Base 3 Ingredients: Macadamia, Walnuts, Tahini

The base is macadamia, walnuts, and tahini – 3 ingredients chosen for their particular nutrition profiles and, of course, delicious flavor profiles. And I’m a lazy chef so the proportions are basically one container each of macadamia and walnuts, and a jar of tahini. Since container sizes vary, here are the ratios in masses and volumes:

• 16 ounces macadamia

• 16 ounces walnuts

• 1.5 cups tahini

That said, you can really just “titrate to taste.” This yields a mixture that’s 87% fat (that’s a 3:1 ketogenic ratio) by Calories, with 2 net carbs and 5 g protein per 2 Tbsp.

The protocol to produce it is as simple as “dump and blend.” Thereafter, you can spice it up as you please: vanilla, espresso, cinnamon, cacao … or add your favorite protein powder, if you want to piss off Vanity Fair. Those who know, know ;).

Okay. With the recipe behind us why these three ingredients? Let’s learn!

Walnuts: Ellagitannins & Urolithin A

Walnuts are great because they contain ellagitannins, complex polyphenols that can be converted by microbes in the gut into a compound called urolithin A. There are data suggesting that urolithin A can help reduce visceral fat (the inflammatory fat that sits around your organs) improve mitochondrial health, and improve metabolic health.

For example, in one randomized trial, those assigned to a diet rich in compounds that can increase urolithin A production lost >14% visceral fat, which was over 3 times the visceral fat as those assigned to a more standard healthy eating diet. See this video for a review of that study:

And, if you want even more about urolithin A, another 4-month randomized control trial using urolithin A dosed at either 500 or 1000 mg daily and found improvements in muscle strength and endurance and mitochondrial health.

The magnitude of the effect was actually quite stunning, with urolithin A treatment increasing leg muscle strength by +10-12% in some tests, along with signs of decreased inflammation and increased mitochondrial fat metabolism.

Now, some of you may be thinking, “Decreased inflammation? But aren’t walnuts high in omega-6? And isn’t omega-6 inflammatory?”

While it’s true that a high omega-6/3 ratio in the body can be pro-inflammatory, your dietary omega-6/3 ratio doesn’t directly translate into your body’s omega-6/3 ratio.

As a case in point, I eat walnuts happily and boast a perfect 1:1 omega-6/3 ratio in my cells.

So, my advice to you: don’t fear walnuts or other raw whole foods that happen to be rich in omega-6. Instead, focus on avoiding highly processed industrialized oils and prioritize getting fatty fish in your diet at least twice per week.

And if you want more on the related controversial topic of seed oils, check out this video. Seed oils and dietary omega-6 are hotly debated. And while I’m surely biased, my seed oil video goes deeper than most media coverage—so check it out. Hopefully it doesn’t fry your brain.

What’s more, people’s concern around omega-6 derives largely from the fact that they are fragile fats prone to oxidation. Therefore, it is important to use raw walnuts, in my opinion, as opposed to roasted walnuts.

And here’s a teaser: compounds in sesame may actually protect walnut’s fragile fats. We’ll get to that shortly.

Macadamia: Omega-7 and Calories

But speaking of omega-6, let’s add +1 and talk about omega-7 found in macadamia nuts. Omega-7 is a rare monounsaturated fat, also called palmitoleic acid, found in macadamia nuts and few other foods.

It’s a lipokine, or fat hormone, with beneficial metabolic properties, including enhancing insulin sensitivity. I delve into the peculiarities of palmitoleic acid in this video, if you want more.

Product Plug: And though my butter may show bias, it’s worth sharing that I’ve been a happy customer of House of Macadamia for almost six years. My go-to are the kilo bag– which with my discount code: NICK15, is only 84 cents per serving. (Click HERE).

And with that fat-tastic plug aside, let me reassure you that high-calorie macadamia nuts are unlikely to butter up your love handles.

Interestingly, it turns out that they may actually help with weight management. The only interventional trial where people were instructed to consume macadamia nuts, without caloric restriction, led to a statistically significant decrease in BMI in just 4 weeks.

Sorry, ‘calories in, calories out’—you lose again! Want to reconfigure you’re mind set around Calories? Check out either of these two videos: Calories Lie & Fix a Broken Metabolism)

In the rest of this letter we will":

• Review Sesame: My Favorite “Seed Oil”

• Discuss why the lignans in sesame are important for health

• Discuss Dietary vs Circulating Omega-6/3 ratio

• Show You at least one Impressive Graph

• Reveal my Sesame oil “Hack” for Higher Ketones