Is Macadamia Fat Bread Healthy?

Do the health benefits of macadamia nuts balance out the increase in fat from the macadamia nuts and coconut butter? Let’s find it out.

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Summary

Macadamia nut bread is a fat-based snack made primarily of eggs, coconut butter, and macadamia nuts, rather than a carbohydrate-based loaf made of flour. This means it’s low-carb, sugar-free (stevia is often used to add a bit of sweetness), and keto-friendly. Do the health benefits of macadamia nuts and the reduction of carbohydrates balance out the increase in fat from the macadamia nuts and coconut butter? Is macadamia fat bread healthy? Let’s find it out.

Is Macadamia Fat Bread Healthy?

The hHealth Benefits of Macadamia Nuts

One of the healthiest parts of macadamia nut fat bread is the macadamia nuts, which are high in healthy fats and micronutrients.

Macadamia nuts can lower cholesterol

Studies performed on men and women with high cholesterol found that those who ate macadamia nuts had lower serum lipid count and cardiovascular disease risk [1]. This means macadamia nuts might be a great addition for those experiencing or at high risk of high cholesterol [2, 3].

Macadamia nut oil can reduce obesity-related inflammation

In studies with mice, feeding them macadamia nut oil reduced inflammation resulting from obesity [4]. While little is known about how this works in humans, macadamia nut oil is a potent anti-inflammatory, and people with obesity do have higher rates of inflammation.

Macadamia nuts are high in healthy monounsaturated fats

Macadamia nuts are high in monounsaturated fatty acids, help prevent high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease, and has been suggested as a potential remedy for our current high saturated and trans-fat diet here in North America [5, 6].

“What are Healthy Fats? (20 examples)”

The Health Benefits of Reducing Sugar

For the past several decades, nutritionists and dieticians worldwide have focused on reducing our intake of sugar. From icing-dunked doughnuts to sweet coffee-based drinks to soft drinks, we just can’t seem to get enough. Our body has been evolutionarily designed to crave fats and sugar because these are what our body needs to run, and we can easily store them away for famine times [7].

Now that we all have a fully-stocked fridge at any given time, we should focus on reducing our fat and sugar intake rather than increasing it. Many modern diseases are a direct result of the overindulgence of sweet foods and drinks.

This has resulted in 10% of our daily diet consisting of unhealthy saturated fat and refined starches (carbohydrates), making up 42% of our daily food intake [8]. An average of 2.8 million people worldwide dies of obesity and its related diseases every year [9].

Sugar may increase your cancer risk

While much work remains to be done in this area, research has shown that restricting carbohydrates can slow cancer growth by reducing insulin levels. Insulin is very involved in helping your immune system function. Could it be that sugar behaves the same way? Only more research and time will tell [10].

Sugar increases metabolic disease risk and obesity

The link between overconsumption of sugar (or carbohydrates) and obesity is unsurprising. Storing this easily accessed calorie source results in body fat increases that eventually develop into obesity [11, 12]. Metabolic diseases, however, go much further than diabetes. They also include fatty liver disease, cardiovascular disease, dyslipidemia, and many others, all of which are made worse by higher sugar consumption [13].

The Health Benefits of Coconut Butter

The last major component of macadamia fat bread that we’ll be covering in this article is coconut butter. Coconut butter is made from coconut oil, a healthier alternative to traditional butter and vegetable oils.  

Coconut oil is high in healthy fatty acids

Like macadamia nuts, coconut oil is high in monounsaturated fatty acids, which are much better for you than the saturated trans-fats in other oil and butter sources. While it’s unclear what the impact on weight loss would be, clinical trials had shown reduced risk in developing metabolic diseases and high cholesterol when participants used coconut oil instead of other oil types [14].

Coconut oil can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease

In a recent clinical trial, those consuming coconut oil reduced the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors like high cholesterol [15]. This means replacing some of your cooking oils with coconut oils isn’t a bad idea. In a food like macadamia fat bread, coconut oil is a healthy alternative to saturated fatty acids and sugar.

In Conclusion, Is Macadamia Fat Bread Healthy?

So have your bread and eat it too with macadamia fat bread. This snack is high in healthy fats and low in sugar. Do remember that this bread is high in fat (and thus, calories), so a small serving is best. Enjoy your new healthy snack and watch your cholesterol and cardiovascular disease risk decrease.

You might be interested in “The World’s Healthiest Nuts.”

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