Is it Primal? – Balsamic Vinegar, Chestnuts, Apricot Kernels, and Other Foods Scrutinized
It’s time for yet another edition of “Is It Primal?” where I determine and decree the worthiness of various foods. First up, I discuss balsamic vinegar – both types – and explain whether or not it belongs in a Primal eating plan. After that, chestnuts get roasted over the open fire of my analysis. Apricot kernels, those weird little almond lookalikes, are next, followed by chitosan. Finally, I cover the safety and healthfulness of Korean nori snacks. Keep in mind, readers: once my edict on a particular food has been handed down, once it has been deemed Primal or not Primal, the word is sacrosanct. It must be hewed to, or else you will suffer the consequences, which can include such horrors as revocation of your Primal Cred card or banishment to Vegan Island.
Take heed.
Balsamic Vinegar
There are essentially two primary types of balsamic vinegar. The first, made according to traditional practices and standards, involves reducing grape juice (from grapes grown in specific regions of Italy) down to 30% of volume to form a must, followed by a 12-year fermentation of the must in a variety of wood barrels during which time the flavors and various other bioactive compounds form and develop. This stuff is expensive, going for as much as several hundred dollars a bottle. It’s called traditional balsamic vinegar, or Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale.
The second is balsamic vinegar of Modena, which is made using wine vinegar, caramel, and grape must. Basic balsamic vinegars are technically aged, but very rarely for as long as twelve years. A couple months appears to be the minimum.
Vinegar itself, regardless of the origin, lowers the blood sugar response to a meal, improves the glucose tolerance, and even increases the satiety of a meal when taken before or during the meal. Acetic acid is the key here, so rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, and even white vinegar will work just as well as the best balsamic vinegar. But some benefits are unique to balsamic vinegar:
- Balsamic vinegar inhibited LDL oxidation and macrophage accumulation to a greater extent than rice wine vinegar. In other words, balsamic vinegar – regular old stuff purchased at a Japanese supermarket - may inhibit atherosclerosis.
- During simulated digestion of meat, melanoidins that arise during traditional balsamic vinegar fermentation reduced lipid peroxidation and heme iron absorption.
All this data is beginning to make that pre-dinner salad with olive oil and balsamic look pretty appetizing, eh? I imagine marinating one’s meat in a balsamic vinegar solution would also have beneficial effects on lipid oxidation.
Verdict: Primal (so long as you don’t eat it with bread!).
Chestnuts
Unlike most other nuts, chestnuts are relatively low in fat and high in starch. They’re also quite low in phytic acid, so the whole mineral absorption issue won’t affect your enjoyment of chestnuts. Chestnuts are high in carbs, so treat them more like sweet potatoes or white potatoes than almonds or macadamia nuts – as an ideal post-workout snack, perfect for replenishing depleted glycogen stores. Also, because chestnuts are, well, nuts, they offer a pleasantly nutty taste. Some folks are even making chestnut protein powder pudding. I gotta say, it looks pretty delicious.
As far as micronutrients go, chestnuts are notable for their vitamin C, copper, and manganese content. If you’re low on any of these nutrients, chestnuts may be a useful addition.
Roasted on an open fire, cracked and eaten raw off the tree, or whipped into a Neolithic protein powder slurry, chestnuts are solid choices.
Verdict: Primal.
Apricot Kernels
There was an episode of GI Joe (yes, I’ve seen a few episodes in my day) from way back where a giant blob was ravaging the countryside. Bullets weren’t stopping it and bombs were ineffective, so the Joes make one last-ditch effort to beat the thing: they bombard the blob with apples. You see, apple seeds – and all seeds from the rose family, which includes apples, plums, cherries, apricots, peaches, and almonds – contain cyanogenetic glycosides, which degrade to hydrogen cyanide upon digestion. In ample enough doses, apple seeds can kill a murderous, otherwise invincible blob. Apricot kernels are among the richest sources of cyanogenetic glycosides, and cases of acute apricot kernel poisoning have been reported. The average apricot kernel contains 0.5 mg of cyanide (PDF), and the average fatal dose for cyanide in humans is around 1.5 mg/kg bodyweight.
Of course, some people claim that certain cyanogenetic glycosides, such as amygdalin, are actually potent cancer fighters. Apricot kernels also have high ORAC values and lots of phenolic content, but they aren’t alone in that respect. Most plant food has some study or other showing high antioxidant activity. It doesn’t make the food essential or even necessarily worthwhile, particularly if it also comes with cyanide. Eat some blueberries, which are cyanide-free and have far less linoleic acid.
Avoid making apricot kernel meal baked goods. Don’t make apricot kernel meal pancakes, however much coconut butter you incorporate. If a few kernels find their way into your mouth, go ahead and chew and swallow. Just don’t make it a staple, and don’t rely on it to beat cancer.
Verdict: Not Primal (avoid poisonous things).
Chitosan
Chitosan comes from the deacetylation of chitin, the substance that makes up exoskeletons. The structural cohesion of insects, crustaceans, and even fungi depend on chitin; that’s the stuff that gets stuck in between your teeth after a meal of shrimp with the shells on (or crickets). It’s unclear whether humans fully (or even partially) digest chitin, as chitinase – the enzyme that digests chitin – isn’t found in all human gastric juice samples. Researchers have found that gastric juices from Westerners (who eat fewer insects and are exposed to fewer chitinous parasites) are less likely to have chitinase, while gastric juices from non-Westerners tend to have more chitinase. The point, though, is that people can produce chitinase that degrades chitin, and if they don’t, eating more chitin-containing foods should stimulate chitinase production.
- Chitosan supplementation may reduce cartilage destruction in autoimmune arthritis.
- In healthy men, pre-breakfast supplementation with 3 grams of chitosan increased fecal excretion of dioxins and PCBs, two prominent types of xenoestrogenic compounds found in most modern diets.
- A chitin-glucan supplement (extracted from fungi) lowered oxidized LDL in humans. Oxidized LDL is likely causally related to atherosclerosis (as opposed to just plain ol’ LDL), so this could be a helpful supplement for people at risk.
When I’m presented with a shell-on shrimp, I do one of two things. If it’s a massive jumbo shrimp, I’ll usually remove the shell. If it’s a smaller, more manageable shrimp, I’ll eat the entire thing without blinking. The legs are my personal favorite, particularly if they’ve been crisped up in a bit of butter. So yeah, I eat a fair amount of chitosan/chitin. Our ancestors (and every other current culture that utilizes the insect kingdom for food) did too. If you don’t believe me, try removing the shells from a few hundred crickets. It’s far easier – and more nutritious – to simply eat the entire thing. Thus, I think it likely that chitosan is an ancestral soluble “fiber” source, one that we should probably incorporate. I’m not so sure we need to take chitosan tablets, but you might consider hoofing it down to the local Oaxacan restaurant for some chapulines (lime and chile crickets) every now and then, or at least nibbling the shrimp shells and legs when no one else is watching.
Verdict: Primal.
Korean Nori
I feel like I’ve been writing about seaweed a lot lately. Is it just me? Am I crazy?
Anyway, several readers have asked about Korean nori, worried about radiation, contamination, and ingredients used.
I wouldn’t worry about radiation from the Fukushima incident. If you look at a map, Fukushima is on the north east coast of Japan, while Korea lies to the west. Preliminary research indicates that ocean currents have directed any contaminated water out across the Pacific Ocean, rather than back toward the Asian mainland. SeaSnax, who sources their nori from Korean waters, recently had their products tested for radiation and heavy metals and got a clean bill of health.
The ingredients are usually okay. Avoid anything roasted in soybean or other vegetable oils, obviously, but I wouldn’t fret too much over a little sesame oil. True, sesame oil is high in fragile linoleic acid. True, linoleic acid has the tendency to oxidize. However, sesame oil is also imbued with natural antioxidants, like vitamin E, and it appears to be more resistant to thermal and light oxidation than soybean oil. The amounts used in most nori snacks are also so low that they shouldn’t cause much trouble. Just avoid products with excessive sugar and any questionable ingredients. In my experience, it’s no trouble finding a relatively pure Korean nori.
The safest bet is to get your own dry roasted nori sheets and add your own seasonings. Brush with bit of olive oil or butter, sprinkle some sea salt, pop in the oven for a few minutes, and you’ve got yourself a solid snack. Use it as a wrap, shred it for salads, or eat it as-is. Add other seasonings, like chili powder or curry powder.
The nutrition facts on the Wiki page (which draws from the USDA database) look incredible until you realize that they’re talking about 100 grams of nori. A single large sheet is about 3 grams. So, if you want to obtain (in percentages of RDA) 78% of niacin, 60% of thiamine, 194% of riboflavin, 475% of folate, 253% of vitamin C, 371% of vitamin K, 28% of calcium, 88% of iron, 85% of magnesium, 100% of phosphorus, 50% of potassium, 35% of sodium, 38% of zinc, and several thousand percent of iodine, along with 41 grams of protein, you’ll have to eat about 33 large sheets of nori. They’re still impressive, and nori is still nutritious, just not the savior you might have assumed.
Verdict: Primal.
That’s all I’ve got this time, folks. If you have any questions about any other foods, supplements, drinks, or condiments, be sure to send them along. Thanks for reading!
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
Awesome about the balsamic, I wasn’t aware of those health benefits. I’m gonna have to up my big ass salad intake!
“up my big ass”
Careful what you write!
heh heh
I’m pleased too because I eat a lot of it! I put balsamic on my salads, add it to my minced (ground) meat sauces and I pour it onto canned tuna along with olive oil (I call it tuna a la can).
I have mostly only seen chitosan in fat burner supplements, I guess next time my husband gives me a hard time for my “gross” habit of eating the whole shrimp, tail and all, I can refer him to your website.
You have been talking about seaweed a lot lately. It makes me want to find some sort of primal sushi recipe. Maybe cauliflower instead of rice, but how would you get it to be sticky?
I do miss me some sushi. Obviously there’s sashimi (sans rice), but things can get expensive quickly if you want to walk away satisfied.
Melissa of “Well Fed” has a “sushi” recipe.Check it out.
I was considering “ricing” eggplant, fully or partially reconstituting it in some type of fat or stock maybe, and then… i dunno gelatin is probably the stickiest thing available to me but I don’t eat fruit. Those of you who eat fruit can probably use some date to get things sticky somehow, sushi rice is usually sweetened anyway with mirin sugar and rice vin.
Cauliflower grated down, fried until cooked in olive oil then mix in coconut milk to make it sticky. I’ve done it and it’s glorious! Makes a great sushi rice.
uh, AWESOME! i just tried cauliflower rice for the first time this weekend. CHANGED MY LIFE!
You can change a thing only so much before it ceases to be what it was. If it doesn’t have sushi meshi (vinegared rice), it isn’t sushi, merely cauliflower wrapped in seaweed!
While it would be fun to play around with, I don’t think sushi is really that bad of a “cheat” meal. We go out for sushi several times a year and just pack our own bottle of coconut aminos to use in place of soy sauce. A little white rice wont kill ya
I used to eat shrimp whole, and my son adopted the habit without (I think) my ever doing it in front of him. Interesting.
I gave it up a while back due to some intestinal issues that were probably unrelated. I may have to let myself have the legs and soft parts again.
I was amazed that Balsamic vinegar needed to be questioned, but thanks for the clarity.
I just want to point out that Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale is FROM Modena. (I live in Modena…) and the distinction between the two is that the first is like a fine aged wine and the second is like buying it from a carton or plastic jug. The caramel is added to cover up the cheapness and make is darker and sweeter since they need to “fake” age it.
I use LOTS of balsamic and make a point of buying da good stuff from Modena.
If it doesn’t say ” Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale,” it’s not necessarily “da good stuff,” even if it’s from Modena.
Thanks. I’ll check.
Doesn’t most of cheap balsamic have various sugar and sweeteners in it? This would make sense with Julia’s comment about sweetening plain vinegar to “age” it. If so, I’d think is a “Read Label Carefully” caveat to the “Primal” verdict.
Thank you for that clarification. I would be very suspicious of anything that listed caramel as an ingredient…
As a matter of fact I was at the local Oaxacan restaurant a couple of weeks ago. And as it turns out my friend ordered up a chapuline taco. I wanted to try it, really, but I just couldn’t do it. Next time maybe.
These “Is it Primal?” posts are quite entertaining Mark, pls do keep em coming. …And thank goodness on the balsamic vinegar verdict — I love that stuff!
I TOTALLY remember that GI Joe episode! I was watching it with friends, who responded to the apple poisoning with staunch incredulity. I, being the science nerd, dutifully set them straight. Knowing is half the battle!
I’m still a bit confused on the balsamic vinegar. I never really questioned it before, but if it has caramel in it, isn’t that not Primal? Or is the caramel sort of ‘fermented out’?
I would avoid balsamic with caramel flavor added. They are mass-producing balsamic vinegar in 2 years instead of the minimum 12-18 years. The caramel is added to thicken the otherwise runny vinegar and give it a darker color and sweetness. All of those properties come naturally in real traditional balsamic vinegar from the original families.
Granted, you can’t always avoid cheap balsamic while on the road and a salad with restaurant balsamic is probably better than the other soy-bean oil dressing options.
It’s not caramel flavor, it’s caramel color. There’s not enough added to affect the flavor, just the color. And if the flavor were detectable, it would be bitter not sweet, as it’s made by burning carbohydrates. Not to be confused with actual caramel, which is lightly caramelized sugar. No, it’s not something Grok would use, but it’s not a dangerous, industrial, or sugary substance. Grok might have roasted a sweet potato on coals and then eaten the whole thing, charred bits and all. Then he’d be getting a much larger dose of the main ingredient used to make caramel color.
Primal heathen! Burn her!
Thanks so much for the tongue-in-cheek intro! I think we all can be a little less rigid and strident in our primal lifestyle… Is there a possibility of creating a “Is it Primal” searchable database? Might be a fun tab to add to the website….
For an “Is it Primal?” search, try this Google search:
site:MarksDailyApple.com -site:MarksDailyApple.com/forum “Is it Primal?”
Mark,
I use COLAVITA Organic Balsamic Vineger (Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP). The ingredients are : Organic Wine Vinegar & Organic Graper Must. The cost is less than $10, in Ohio. Is this better to use than those that have caramel?
Thanks for all the great info you provide!
Em
Whenever you buy any vinegar, check the ingredients. Check the bottom for sediment (this is good) infact try to find raw, unfiltered, with mother, organic etc.. for maximum health benefeits.
avoid balsamics that add sweeteners.
Eden Organics makes an apple cider vinegar just like that. It’s really good, too. I like to take a spoonful occasionally.
I think we need Primal cred cards. They would be useful in identifying true believers at the religious sacrifices!
+1
: )
I would stress the importance of getting real balsamic vinegar, typically only found in specialty shops. It’s about $12-15 for 175ML. However, it’s REALLY worth it. It’s so much stronger in flavor that you use a lot less, just 5-10 drops per salad for me!
So glad you determined Balsamic primal, especially since I just bought a big ass bottle from Costco to use on my big ass salads!!
Hmm, what to do with the apricot kernel oil I just bought … I knew I’d regret it, but the grocery was out of refined coconut oil
Are you not worried about exoskeletons resulting in diverticulitis. I can’t imagine those litle shards are terribly friendly to the colon lining.
I guess you’d crunch’em pretty well to powder.
Not at all. I chew my food.
They are hard to digest, eat Chinese salt-and-pepper shrimp sparingly, and never give the shells to your pets!
I never bothered with the tail, as I figured it wouldn’t come out well. Now I know, and I’ll probably enjoy the whole shrimp next time!
I sometimes make stock from shrimp shells. Does any good stuff from the chitosan leach into the stock?
Banishment to Vegan Island!!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
Interesting post…personally i much prefer red wine or apple cider vinegar myself.
Will def munch on some spot prawn shells when they are back in season up here in the summer! Can’t wait!
I love the “Is it Primal?” posts. Glad we can all strive to keep our Primal Cred Cards up to date.
Is it wise to disregard the possible cancer fighting properties of apricot (and other kernels) kernels? Are you doing so because there isn’t any scientific proof, not enough proof or proof to the contrary? you say it is poisonous but the fatal dose as you described would mean that you have to eat 210 apricot kernels if you’re a 70kg human, which is ridiculous amount to eat. Is there any reason you say “don’t rely on it to beat cancer” or you’re just skeptical. I myself am unsure but I’m prone to believe that the so-called vitamin B17 is in fact something to be reckoned with. However, I’m just asking further questions in hope of clarification as I’m not that well versed on the subject
Ask Mark about his take on homeopathy. He’s worthy of respect most high, but not everything Mark says is gospel, although he says this himself, so the humbling of our god-like fellow makes him nearer…
but he ain’t god. He’s a smart, predominantly altruistic dude.
He probably also doesn’t want someone to take his words verbatim and end up with some sort of involuntary manslaughter charges.
In the case of amygdalin, there have been studies showing no significant efficacy against cancer and plenty of reports of cyanide poisoning in people who have tried to use it as a cancer treatment. In a cost-benefit analysis, it fails by a pretty big margin – little to no benefit, significant risk of cyanide poisoning.
There’s also how it is completely non-essential to humans, making the term ‘vitamin B17′ extremely misleading (especially after you take the toxicity into account).
The Wikipedia page on amygdalin has a pretty good general coverage of studies on its efficacy against cancer.
It is possible that low levels might have a hormetic effect, but I don’t know of any studies on the matter.
What about the lead levels in Balsamic Vinegar? They are high enough to warrant a warning on the bottle, so wouldn’t the toxicity mean you should stay away from it?
Costco Kirkland brand Balsamic Vinegar of Modena…concentrated cooked grape must and red wine vinegar are the only things in it. Cheap and cheerful! Enjoy with confidence.
The Kirkland Balsamic at my Costco says “sulfites added.”
Now I know, and knowing is half the battle….YO JOE!
Vinegar is definitely number one reason why I’m primal and not paleo
one word… salt
Feeling really good about my daily balsamic and EVO salad! I’ve also marinated steak with balsamic vinegar and love it.
No no not the Vegan Island … ahrggggh
Mark,
There does seem to be a good amount of positive research on apricot kernels.
Cancer studies date back to the late 1970′s but I’m skeptical of most…
But newer studies show promise for cardio protective benefits.
I saw this one a while back on pubmed. Study is on apricot kernel oil.
I’m not sure the almighty kernels as the have been hyped……should be disregarded just yet.
Thoughts?
Best to you and your family.
Marc
Just want to point out that apricot kernels (xing ren) have been used for centuries in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Properly prescribed by a licensed TCM professional, for the right pattern and in the dosage, it’s an excellent herb for stopping coughs, wheezing, and asthma.
(should read: for the right pattern and in the PROPER dosage, it’s an excellent herb for stopping coughs, wheezing, and asthma.)
Oops, forgot the link.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21896302
Thank you Mark! I too will show this to my family.I am not a “garbage disposal” after all.Love shrims and every part of it.