Nuts are a great source of plant-based protein and healthy fats. Additionally, it also provides vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants. Nuts maintain optimum health. One serving (30 g or ¼ cup) of nuts provides about 3-6 grams of protein. However, if your goal to get more protein, we usually recommend increasing the intake of legumes.

Nuts strengthen the brain, heart, and muscles. They boost cognitive function, reduces oxidative stress, provides energy, and prevents diseases.

You should include a variety of nuts in your daily diet. Almonds and walnuts are especially important because both nuts have a greater antioxidant capacity and contain the healthiest fats. Walnuts also contain omega-3 fatty acids.

KEY RECOMMENDATION

1. Preference: Give preference to walnuts and almonds. These should be a part of your daily diet. Walnuts are more important than almonds if you need to choose one from two.
2. Alternate: Except almonds and walnuts, alternate all other nuts. Do not consume the same nuts daily.
3. Soak: Soak all types of nuts for about 8 hours before eating. You can also soak nuts overnight.

RECOMMENDED NUT RATIO

Nuts Groups	Recommended Ratio
Walnuts	45%
Almonds	45%
Others	10%

RECOMMENDED NUTS SERVINGS

Nuts are not an important part of the whole food plant-based diet. It just provides additional support to people who have high energy and calorie needs.

Standard Serving Size for Nuts

Soaked Nuts	30 grams (¼ cup)
Nut Butter (homemade)	2 tablespoons

Recommended Daily Amount

The recommended daily amount depends on your health status. We divide our recommendation into four groups:

1. Group 1 (Acne, Obese & Heart Disease): If you are obese or suffer from acne or cardiovascular disease, you should consider the recommendation given under Group 1.
2. Group 2 (Sedentary Lifestyle): Healthy people living a sedentary lifestyle and doing sitting jobs.
3. Group 3 (Physically Active): Children, pregnant women, lactating mothers, physically active people doing exercise at least 30 minutes a day.
4. Group 4 (Athletes and sportspeople): Athletes and sportspeople.

Group 1: Acne, Obese & Heart Disease

Age Group	Recommended Daily Servings
12-18	¼ serving (7.5 grams)
19-50	¼ serving (7.5 grams)
51-70	NIL
70+	NIL

The above recommendation is for obese people (trying to lose weight) and people who suffer from skin diseases (especially acne) or cardiovascular diseases.

Group 2: Sedentary Lifestyle

Age Group	Recommended Daily Servings
19-50	½ serving (15 grams)
51-70	1/3 serving (10 grams)
70+	¼ serving (7.5 grams)

The above recommendation is for healthy people living a sedentary life.

Group 3: Physical Active

Age Group	Recommended Daily Servings
1-2	¼ serving (7.5 grams)
2-3	1/3 serving (10 grams)
4-8	½ serving (15 grams)
9-11	¾ serving (22.5 grams)
12-13	1 serving (30 grams)
14-18	1 ½ serving (45 grams)
19-50	1 serving (30 grams)
51-70	¾ serving (22.5 grams)
70+	½ serving (15 grams)
Pregnant	1 ½ serving (45 grams)
Lactating	1 ½ serving (45 grams)

The above recommendation is for children, pregnant women, lactating mothers, and people exercising for 30-60 minutes a day.

Group 4: Athletes & Sportspeople

Age Group	Recommended Servings per day
4-8	¾ serving (22.5 grams)
9-11	1 serving (30 grams)
12-13	1 ½ serving (45 grams)
15-18	2 servings (60 grams)
19-50	1 ½ serving (45 grams)
51-70	¾ serving (22.5 grams)
70+	½ serving (15 grams)

This recommendation is for athletes, sportspeople and physically active people doing exercise for more than 60 minutes a day.

Appropriate Amount

The amount also depends on your digestive capacity. Your appetite and digestive capacity matter more than the recommended amount. You can eat less or more according to your appetite and digestive capacity. The appropriate amount is the amount that does not affect the intake of other food groups, and you easily digest the amount without facing any trouble or loss of appetite for the next mealtime.

NUT MILK

Soya and nuts are major sources of plant-based milk. You should check the ingredients of nut milk. Generally, plant-based nut milk contains 2.5% of nuts (e.g., 2.5% of almonds in almond milk). You should count it toward your daily recommended nut amount.

We promote simplicity and negligible or minimum processing. Commercial nut milk contains unwanted ingredients. Making nut milk at home is a time-consuming process. Therefore, it could be best to eat soaked nuts. Be simple and have more time for other activities.

Spices Guide

The selected spices improve the bioavailability of nutrients and phytochemicals in the body. Spices also have unique healing power. So, spices also help in the treatment of several health conditions. Spices improve appetite, digestion, and metabolism. Therefore, spices are an important food group in our dietary guidelines.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Variety: Include a variety of spices in your diet.
2. Tolerability: Choose according to your body tolerance. If some spices are not suitable for you, you should not eat.
3. Appropriate Amount: Eat in the right amount. Eating less may not be beneficial. Excess intake of some hot spices may cause burning.

1. 7 Daily Herbs: Eat Turmeric, Black Pepper, Long Pepper, Ginger, Cumin Seeds, Green Cardamom and Cinnamon daily

1. Weekly Herbs: Any two of Asafoetida, Clove, Fenugreek seeds, Mace, Nutmeg, Saffron and Fennel Seeds.

SPICES CATEGORIES

There are three main categories of spices:

Essential Spices

Essential spices include 7 spices listed as follows:

1. Black Pepper
2. Cinnamon
3. Cumin Seeds
4. Ginger
5. Green Cardamon
6. Long Pepper
7. Turmeric

Ginger should be preferably fresh. You can also take dried ginger powder or Sonth powder.

You should take these herbs daily in the recommended amount.

Recommended Daily Amount

Spices	Children	Adults
Black Pepper	4 mg per Kg of Body Weight	300 mg (one pinch)
Cinnamon	20 mg per Kg of Body Weight	1.5 g
Cumin Seeds	40 mg per Kg of Body Weight	3 g
Ginger (Fresh)	40 mg per Kg of Body Weight	3 g
Ginger powder (dry)	4 mg per Kg of Body Weight	300 mg (one pinch)
Green Cardamon	20 mg per Kg of Body Weight	1.5 g
Long Pepper (Pippali)	4 mg per Kg of Body Weight	300 mg (one pinch)
Turmeric	40 mg per Kg of Body Weight	3 g

The maximum amount of spices should not exceed half (50%) of the adult dosage if your child is overweight or obese.

7 Spice Mixture

You can prepare a mixture with these spices’ powder, as follows:

Spices	Mixing Proportion
Black Pepper	10 grams
Cinnamon	50 grams
Cumin Seeds	100 grams
Ginger powder (dry)	10 grams
Green Cardamon	50 grams
Long Pepper (Pippali)	10 grams
Turmeric	100 grams

Use this mixture instead of Garam Masala. You can add it in every food recipe. For maximum benefits, add it after cooking the food along with Fresh Herbs.

Recommended Spices

Recommended spices include:

1. Asafoetida
2. Carom Seeds
3. Clove
4. Dill seeds
5. Fennel Seeds
6. Fenugreek seeds
7. Mace
8. Nutmeg
9. Saffron

You should take any two from the above list weekly. Asafoetida is an important spice and should be added in legume recipe. You can take a pinch of Asafoetida with one and a half cup of cooked legumes (lentil, beans, chickpea).

Recommended Amount

You do not need to take all these spices daily. Alternation is better and highly recommended. But choose only 1-2 spices from this list for daily intake.

Spices	Children	Adults
Asafoetida	4 mg per Kg of Body Weight	300 mg (one pinch)
Carom Seeds	20 mg per Kg of Body Weight	1.5 g
Clove	20 mg per Kg of Body Weight	1.5 g
Dill Seeds	20 mg per Kg of Body Weight	1.5 g
Fennel Seeds	100 mg per Kg of Body Weight	7.5 g
Fenugreek seeds	40 mg per Kg of Body Weight	3 g
Mace	20 mg per Kg of Body Weight	1.5 g
Nutmeg	10 mg per Kg of Body Weight	750 mg
Saffron	10 mg per Kg of Body Weight	750 mg

Acceptable Spices

We recommend choosing a variety of spices in your diet. This list includes all other optional spices that can also help you preserve proper digestion. The following table provides a general reference of spices as well as the recommended amount. You can include 2 spices in each month from this list if you wish.

Spices	Children	Adults
Allspice	4 mg per Kg of Body Weight	300 mg (one pinch)
Anise	4 mg per Kg of Body Weight	300 mg (one pinch)
Bay Leaf	4 mg per Kg of Body Weight	300 mg (one pinch)
Caraway	4 mg per Kg of Body Weight	300 mg (one pinch)
Marjoram	4 mg per Kg of Body Weight	300 mg (one pinch)
Mustard Seeds	10 mg per Kg of Body Weight	750 mg
Nutmeg	4 mg per Kg of Body Weight	300 mg (one pinch)
Oregano (dry)	8 mg per Kg of Body Weight	300 mg (one pinch)
Paprika (dry)	4 mg per Kg of Body Weight	300 mg (one pinch)
Rosemary	10 mg per Kg of Body Weight	750 mg
Sage	4 mg per Kg of Body Weight	300 mg (one pinch)
Tarragon	4 mg per Kg of Body Weight	300 mg (one pinch)
Thyme	10 mg per Kg of Body Weight	750 mg
Vanilla	20 mg per Kg of Body Weight	1.5 g
Wintergreen	4 mg per Kg of Body Weight	300 mg (one pinch)

The maximum recommended amount should not exceed half (50%) of the adult’s recommended amount if the child is overweight or obese.

Restricted Spices

You should not take the following spices:

1. Ground red chilli or paprika powder.
2. Cayenne Chilli (all varieties – fresh green, red, etc.) and its dried forms.

Green and red chilli are normally used in food preparation. These are on our restricted list.

You can use it if you are healthy. You should not use it if you are following the Healing Phase Diet and Stablizing Phase Diet

Herbs are the best source of health-promoting phytochemicals. They have a healing capacity. Herbs help in the prevention as well as treatment of diseases. Some herbs with potent healing power are easily available. These should be used in the fresh form as part of the food.

Commonly available herbs include coriander, basil, mint, parsley, curry leaves and dill leaves. Besides, fennel green, giloy leaves, hyssop, oregano, moringa and rosemary are also available in some part of the world.

Fresh herbs have strong antioxidant, anticancer, anti-mutagenic, neuroprotective, cardioprotective, renal protective and anti-inflammatory properties. These herbs help to preserve health by protective actions. These herbs also boost immunity.

KEY RECOMMENDATION

1. Variety: Include a variety of fresh herbs in your diet. Choose at least 2 types of different herbs every day.
2. Fresh: These herbs should be fresh. Consume within 2-3 days after picking up from the garden or purchasing from the vegetable market.
3. Green: Use the green leaves of these herbs as a part of the food.

RECOMMENDED SERVINGS

The green leaves of these herbs are a particularly important part of the healing diet. Due to protective and healing benefits, herbs are also an essential part of dietary guidelines.

Standard Serving Size

Form	1 Serving Size equal to:
Chopped Herbs	15 grams (approx. 1 ½ handful)
Herbs Paste	15 grams (approx. 1 ½ handful)
Green Chutney (without salt)	15 grams (approx. 1 ½ handful)

Recommended Servings

Age Group (In Year)	Minimum Daily Amount	Recommended Daily Amount
1-2	1/6 serving (2.5 g)	1/3 serving (5 g)
2-3	1/3 serving (5 g)	½ serving (7.5 g)
4-8	½ serving (7.5 g)	¾ serving (11.25 g)
9-11	¾ serving (11.25 g)	1 serving (15 g)
12-13	1 serving (15 g)	1 ½ serving (22.5 g)
14-18	1 ½ serving (22.5 g)	2 servings (30 g)
19-70	1 ½ serving (22.5 g)	2 servings (30 g)
70+	1 ½ serving (22.5 g)	2 servings (30 g)
Pregnant	1 ½ serving (22.5 g)	2 servings (30 g)
Lactating	1 ½ serving (22.5 g)	2 servings (30 g)

FRESH HERBS CATEGORIES

There are two categories (group) of fresh herbs:

Essential Herbs (Group 1)

Essential herbs include all varieties of basil, coriander, mint, oregano, and thyme.

1. Basil (all types).
   1. African Blue Basil
   2. Camphor Basil (Kapuri Tulsi) – Ocimum kelimandscharium
   3. Cardinal Basil
   4. Cinnamon Basil
   5. Clove basil or African basil (Ram Tulsi) – Ocimum gratissimum
   6. Genovese Basil (Italian basil)
   7. Greek Basil
   8. Green Ruffles Basil
   9. Hoary basil (Shweta Tulsi) – Ocimum canum
   10. Holy Basil (Vishnu Tulsi) – Ocimum sanctum
   11. Lemon Basil
   12. Lettuce Basil
   13. Lime Basil
   14. Purple Basil
   15. Spicy Globe Basil
   16. Summerlong Basil
   17. Sweet Basil or French Basil (Van Tulsi) – Ocimum bacilicum
   18. Thai Sweet Basil
2. Coriander or Cilantro – Coriandrum sativum.
3. Mint (all types)
   1. Apple mint
   2. Orange mint
   3. Peppermint
   4. Pineapple Mint
   5. Spearmint
4. Oregano (fresh).
5. Thyme (fresh).

These herbs are essential. Coriander, basil, and mint should be in your regular diet. You can choose both green herbs from this group if available. If these herbs are unavailable due to season or country, you should use other herbs listed in the recommended group.

Recommended Herbs (Group 2)

• Curry leaves.
• Culantro (long coriander, Mexican coriander) – Eryngium foetidumI.
• Dill leaves.
• Fennel (green).
• Fenugreek leaves.
• Giloy.
• Hyssop.
• Moringa.
• Parsley.
• Rosemary.
• Vietnamese cilantro – Persicaria odorata

FRESH HERBS IN PREGNANCY

Fresh herbs are also important during pregnancy. Pregnant women should take coriander daily and mint and basil every week.

The half of servings should be from coriander. The remaining half should be from other herbs, including mint, basil, fennel green, parsley, dill leaves, giloy leaves, moringa leaves etc.

Many people think that eating nuts is good for your brain. A large study from Harvard recently found that eating nuts was strongly correlated with longevity. In the study of over 100,000 people, the researchers found that people who ate nuts daily had a 20% lower death rate compared to people who didn’t eat nuts.

However, from a brain health perspective, not all nuts are created equally. There is great variation in the health benefits to be found in different types of nuts, especially from a brain health perspective.

Walnuts

Walnuts are the top nut for brain health. They have a significantly high concentration of DHA, a type of Omega-3 fatty acid. Among other things, DHA has been shown to protect brain health in newborns, improve cognitive performance in adults, and prevent or ameliorate age-related cognitive decline. One study even shows that mothers who get enough DHA have smarter kids. Just a quarter cup of walnuts provides nearly 100% of the recommended daily intake of DHA.

Additional research has found that people with walnuts and walnut oil in their diets have lower resting blood pressure as well as lower blood pressure responses to stress in the laboratory.

Almonds & Hazelnuts

Almonds and Hazelnuts are two of the most concentrated sources of vitamin E available, and vitamin E intake is generally associated with less age-related cognitive decline. In one study, participants who received vitamin E improved statistically and clinically in some memory and verbal measures, while participants who received a placebo did not. 1/4 cup of almonds or hazelnuts packs in nearly 50% of the RDA for vitamin E.

Peanuts

Peanuts have not been extensively studied as a brain healthy food, but there is good reason to believe that they offer brain benefits. Peanuts are high in niacin (1/2 cup of peanuts offers about 50% of the RDA for niacin.) Studies have correlated niacin deficiencies with a higher incidence of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s. There has also been preliminary research that suggests that eating peanuts may help stave off Parkinson’s.

Other nuts like pecans, chestnuts, and cashews are often mentioned as having brain health benefits. However, there are little or no published scientific studies to back up those claims, so we’ll have to wait on further research to be sure.

Of course, nuts are high in calories. Many worry that the proven health benefits of eating nuts will be outweighed by the increase in caloric intake and potential weight gain. Interestingly, studies have shown that people who regularly eat nuts actually weigh less than their nut-free counterparts.

Go Ahead, Spice Up Your Diet — It’s Good for Your Heart