Walnuts occupy a specific and carefully defined role within the Primal Diet. They are not a primary food, they are not a reliable source of protein, they are not a reliable source of usable fat, and they are not something to be eaten freely or casually. Aajonus was emphatic and repeated throughout his workshops and writings that the human digestive system is fundamentally not designed to extract meaningful nutrition from nuts of any kind. He demonstrated this with personal experimentation: while vegan, he ate seven pounds of nuts per day, including walnuts and pecans, which he identified as among the softest and therefore most digestible nuts available, and would wake up lighter the next morning. The body was not extracting protein, not extracting fat in any meaningful quantity, and barely extracting anything at all.

Despite this, walnuts do have a purpose. The single nutritional component that humans appear capable of extracting from walnuts in any useful quantity is starch. That starch performs a specific biochemical function: it binds with excessive, toxic, or overactive hormones circulating in the bloodstream. This is the sole legitimate reason to consume walnuts on the Primal Diet. Walnuts are medicine for a specific condition, hyperactivity, anxiety, excess adrenaline, overactive glandular function, not a daily staple food.

The only sanctioned way to consume walnuts is in the Nut Formula, a carefully developed preparation that neutralizes the enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid naturally present in all nuts. Eaten outside of this formula, walnuts actively harm digestion and can prevent protein absorption from all foods eaten within a 24- to 48-hour window. Walnuts consumed raw, alone, and unsalted, without the neutralizing combination of fat, egg, and honey, will interfere with protein digestion system-wide, not just for the nuts themselves, but for every other food consumed in that extended time window.

Aajonus described walnuts as the softest of the nuts available, and the oil in walnuts as "pretty good," but he simultaneously cautioned that walnut oil, like all nut oils, has a tendency to lower cholesterol and fat levels in the body, which is counterproductive on a diet where high cholesterol is considered protective and essential.

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Walnuts contain three categories of nutrients, starch, protein, and fat, but only the starch is meaningfully accessible to the human digestive system.

Protein from walnuts: Aajonus measured fecal output in people eating nuts and found that anywhere from 95 to 99 percent of the protein passed directly out of the body through feces and urine. Only somewhere between one-third to two-thirds of the starch was absorbed, depending on the individual's digestibility. He concluded: zero usable protein from nuts. This was confirmed by his personal experiment eating seven pounds of soft nuts per day while vegan and waking up lighter each morning, meaning the body was not building tissue from that protein. He stated: "We get about 5% of the protein only."

Fat from walnuts: Nut oils are "almost impossible for humans to digest, maybe two percent, and that's about it." This applies to walnut oil as with all nut oils. Furthermore, walnut oil specifically has a tendency to lower fat levels in the body and lower cholesterol levels. On the Primal Diet, Aajonus considered this a significant negative, because he wanted people to have the highest cholesterol levels possible for the 60 varieties of cholesterol that lubricate, strengthen, and protect the body.

Starch from walnuts: This is what the human body actually extracts from walnuts. The starch is digestible after the phytic acid is neutralized. That starch then performs one specific task: it binds with excessive hormones in the bloodstream. Aajonus specified "only the bloodstream, not the intestines or anywhere else." The hormones it binds with are primarily those driving hyperactivity and anxiety, testosterone, estrogen, and adrenaline, hormones produced for physical activity that, when not burned off, circulate in the blood and cause agitation, anxiety, and inability to calm down.

All nuts contain phytic acid. Walnuts are no exception. Phytic acid is a substance that binds with specific minerals. Those particular minerals are required for protein absorption and proper digestion. When phytic acid is present, the body loses zinc and many other minerals, and this triggers a chain reaction: loss of those minerals → inability to digest proteins → inability to digest fats → cascading digestive failure for 24 to 48 hours after consumption.

This means eating raw walnuts without the neutralizing formula does not just prevent you from digesting the walnut protein. It prevents you from digesting the protein in eggs and meat consumed in the same time window. Aajonus stated this causes "inability to digest proteins for 24 to 48 hours." He also noted that eating large amounts of nuts without the formula can cause depression or sluggishness, with the specific manifestation varying by individual.

This is a critical point Aajonus addressed repeatedly. Many in the raw foods community believed that soaking or germinating nuts neutralizes phytic acid and makes them digestible. Aajonus rejected this completely. He explained:

When you germinate nuts, you do remove phytic acid, but three other acids form that are just as problematic as phytic acid, now present in three times the concentration. You therefore digest even less from a germinated nut than from a dry one. Furthermore, soaking a nut turns it into something partway between a nut and a vegetable. Aajonus stated: "Once you germinate them, soak them, you turn them into a vegetable, so you do not digest them very well. You are caught between a rock and a hard place." The sprouted nut becomes a cellulose molecule, requiring an herbivore's digestive system to process. He said explicitly: "Does sprouting seeds and nuts help with digestion? It makes it worse. It turns it into a vegetable."

The solution he arrived at after years of experimentation is not soaking, not germinating, not cooking, but the Nut Formula, which neutralizes phytic acid while keeping the nut in its dry, unsoaked state.

Cooking destroys phytic acid but creates 32 known varieties of toxins, including heterocyclic amines, lipid peroxides, and acrylamides. Aajonus stated: "When they're cooked you destroy the phytic acid but you've also caused all the heterocyclic amines and the lipid peroxides and the acrylamides to form from cooking which are toxins that are formed from cooking." So cooking is not a viable solution.

Aajonus issued a specific caution about walnut oil beyond the general inability to digest nut fats: "You have to be careful with the walnut, because it lowers all nuts, really. Their oil has a tendency to lower other fat levels in your body, lower cholesterol levels. And on this diet, you want the highest cholesterol level you can reach." He associated 60 varieties of cholesterol with three essential bodily functions, lubrication, strength, and systemic protection. Approximately a third of each variety performs one of those functions. Lower cholesterol, on this diet, means less of all three forms of protection. The walnut's oil working against cholesterol accumulation is therefore a specific liability of this nut that must be managed by limiting its frequency.

Aajonus explained that 95% of all anxiety is caused by the body producing large amounts of activity hormones, testosterone, estrogen, adrenaline, that are not then consumed through physical activity. These hormones remain circulating in the bloodstream in a toxic or overactive state. The starch from the walnut nut formula binds with these hormones specifically in the bloodstream and "harnesses" them, calming the system. He described this as similar to what cooked starches previously accomplished in the diet (before he replaced them with the nut formula), but without the damage that cooked starches cause in the intestines.

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Among all nuts, Aajonus ranked them by relative digestibility, with softness being the primary indicator of digestive accessibility. Walnuts were consistently placed at the top of his recommended list as one of the two or three softest and most digestible nuts:

• Walnuts, soft, good oil, primary recommendation
• Pecans, soft, comparable to walnuts, primary recommendation
• Pine nuts, soft but with specific contraindications (see below)
• Filberts/Hazelnuts, softer than almonds but more difficult than walnuts and pecans
• Sunflower seeds, soft and recommended
• Pumpkin seeds, occasionally acceptable with conditions
• Macadamia nuts, exceptionally soft but must be sourced very carefully
• Almonds, hard, very difficult to digest, rarely recommended
• Cashews, irradiated, not truly raw, essentially unusable

He stated: "I will eat almonds or pecans because they're very soft and they're easier to break down. I can utilize the starch in those better. Most people I've found can. Walnuts... Walnuts and pecans. Yes, almonds are very hard. Walnuts and pecans." He also said: "I'll take a half a cup of either walnuts which are very soft and the oil's pretty good, and/or pecans."

Walnuts must be raw. This means truly raw, not heated to the point where enzymes are destroyed. However, Aajonus addressed a specific complication with commercial walnut sourcing that creates ambiguity about what "raw" means in practice (see Section 4 and Section 12).

Aajonus drew a sharp distinction between walnuts dried in the shell and walnuts dried out of the shell. This is not trivial, it determines whether the walnut is truly raw by his standards:

• Dried in-shell at 110°F: Acceptable. The shell provides protection such that the internal nut does not suffer the same degree of enzyme destruction.
• Dried out-of-shell at 110°F: Not acceptable. Aajonus stated: "In shell is okay, but out of shell that temperature destroys many enzymes."

He confirmed this distinction explicitly in his correspondence when told that Ferrari Farms and Gibson Farms dehydrate in-shell at 110°F: "Walnuts are dehydrated in the shell by Ferrari Farms and Gibson Farms at 110 degrees. Both Walnut farms are considered reputable and have been around for many years. You said in the shell dehydrating is okay. So walnuts must be okay." Aajonus did not dispute this conclusion.

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Aajonus investigated the sourcing of walnuts from Jaffe Brothers, whose supplier was Ferrari Farms. He discovered that what is sold as "raw" walnuts in the marketplace is typically dehydrated at 110°F before sale to the public. The reason given by Jeff Ferrari of Ferrari Farms was practical: if sold directly off the tree, walnuts would be too wet and mold would occur. Industry standard is to take them down to 8% moisture level, requiring dehydration at 110°F. Jeff Ferrari also stated that above 110°F the oil in the walnuts would go rancid.

Gibson Farms was also identified as following this same in-shell dehydration protocol at 110°F.

Aajonus's position: In-shell dehydration at 110°F is acceptable. Out-of-shell dehydration at 110°F destroys many enzymes and is not acceptable.

The universal preparation instruction is to blend walnuts into a flour before consuming them. Aajonus was specific about the equipment and method:

• Place walnuts into a small canning jar (8- or 12-ounce jar specified for the Nut Formula)
• Blend on high speed until they become flour/powder, he described using a coffee grinder for this purpose in some contexts, and a blender jar in others
• Do NOT soak first
• Do NOT germinate

He described using a food processor for pie crusts with walnuts in a different context, blending on pulse action.

He warned about using a Champion juicer or similar machines: "It heats up too fast. So, if you make it, you've got to only use a small amount at a time, a few ounces before the machine heats up, because it heats up very quickly with nuts."

Aajonus described his own walnut consumption: "I use pecans more often than anything else. But when I make a pie or anything, I use equal amounts of almonds to either walnuts or pecans." He said he makes a paste, nut butter, or pudding, taking half a cup of walnuts and blending to a powder, then adding butter and egg.

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Aajonus was unequivocal: walnuts must not be eaten alone. Eating walnuts raw and unsalted without the neutralizing combination of fat, egg, and honey will trigger the enzyme suppression cascade from phytic acid. He stated: "If you eat them by themselves, it will prevent you from digesting proteins. It could also make you depressed or sluggish; it manifests differently for each person."

The combination of fat + honey neutralizes the enzyme suppressants and transforms them from enzyme-inhibiting substances into enzyme-active ingredients. He described the mechanism: "The butter and the honey will convert the enzyme suppressant into an enzyme active ingredient."

The required combination to neutralize phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors in walnuts:

1. The walnut flour (blended to powder first) 2. A fat, butter is always listed as first choice; raw cream is second; peanut oil is third (specifically Spectrum Natural peanut oil pressed below 92°F, light yellow in color and clear, not amber, red, or orange); coconut cream is an acceptable alternative for butter; these fats are interchangeable with a preference hierarchy 3. Raw egg, always present, always required; "definitely put an egg in" 4. Unheated honey, essential component; 1 to 2 tablespoons typically

He stated: "When you eat that formula it neutralizes the enzyme inhibitors in the nuts."

Throughout all descriptions of the nut formula, butter is identified as the first and best fat to use. "Butter is always the best." Raw cream is the second choice. Peanut oil is third. This preference hierarchy is consistent across all sources.

• Fat (butter/cream/peanut oil/coconut cream): Provides the lipid environment that, combined with honey, converts enzyme suppressants into active ingredients. Without fat, the honey alone would not be sufficient.
• Egg: Always required. The egg contributes additional neutralizing chemistry and provides digestible protein alongside the nut starch.
• Honey: Participates with the fat in the conversion of enzyme suppressants to enzyme-active ingredients. Must be unheated.

Aajonus specifically warned against using olive oil or flax oil as the fat component in the nut formula: "If you use any other kind of oil, whether it's olive oil or flax oil, you're likely to cause a neurological detoxification and you might find yourself not able to sleep." These oils are identified as 90% solvent-reactive and work as cleansers, combined with nuts and the nervous system support of the starch, they can trigger unwanted neurological detox.

He also noted a period when Spectrum Natural peanut oil became unavailable as they switched to pressing toasted nuts: "Spectrum is doing their number and cold pressing toasted nuts, peanuts. So that doesn't make any sense." The key indicator for acceptable peanut oil is that it be very light yellow in color and clear.

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No topical applications for walnuts were documented in the source passages.

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• General recommendation during first 5–6 years of the diet: Once per week
• Alternative frequency cited: Once every 10 days
• Absolute warning: Do not eat nuts every day without the formula
• Two-days-in-a-row warning: Can cause neurological detoxification interfering with sleep between 12:30 and 5:30 A.M.
• For first 7–9 months on a raw diet: Eat nuts rarely, unless craving them or using them to prevent depression

• Approximately half a cup (volume measure), or
• 2–4 ounces by weight, or
• 2.5–3 ounces in some descriptions, or
• 3–5 ounces depending on body size
• Always in the complete formula with fat, egg, and honey

Aajonus stated: "Most people can digest only 1 cup per week if they eat them in combination with raw fat and unheated honey." This appears to be a ceiling for digestibility, more than that per week cannot be processed regardless of the formula.

"Most people don't need to eat it. When they're on this diet they don't need to eat it. I recommend once a week to be careful." The nut formula is medicine, not a staple. Eating it without need adds walnut oil's cholesterol-lowering effect without benefit.

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Aajonus and workshop participants affectionately called the nut formula "candy" because of its sweet, nutty taste. It was described as tasting "like a delicious nutty candy" and as "a little pudding treat."

Walnuts appear consistently as the nut of choice for raw pie crusts throughout Aajonus's recipe books. The pattern is consistent:

Banana Cream Pie Crust (10 servings): - 1 cup raw walnut halves - 2 tablespoons unsalted raw butter - 1 tablespoon unheated honey - Place in food processor and blend until ingredients form a ball - Butter bottom and sides of 8- or 9-inch glass pie-dish - Spread nut mixture and flatten evenly into bottom - Chill in freezer for 15 minutes while making filling

Banana Cream Pie, Miniature (2 servings): - 2 ounces raw walnut halves - 2 teaspoons unsalted raw butter - ½ teaspoon unheated honey - Blenderize in 4-ounce jar on high speed using pulse-action for 5 seconds - Butter bottom and sides of 4-inch glass or ceramic pie-dish - Spread and flatten evenly onto bottom - Place in freezer while making filling

Ambrosia Cream Pie, Miniature (2 servings) Crust: - 2 ounces raw walnut halves - 2 teaspoons unsalted raw butter - ½ teaspoon unheated honey - Blenderize in 4-ounce jar on medium speed using pulse-action for 5 seconds - Butter bottom and sides of 4-inch glass or ceramic pie-dish - Spread and flatten evenly onto bottom - Chill in freezer for 10 minutes while making filling

Pumpkin Pie (8 servings) Crust: - 1 cup raw walnut halves - 2 tablespoons unsalted raw butter - 1 tablespoon unheated honey - Place nuts, 2 tablespoons butter, and 1 tablespoon honey in food processor and blend until ingredients form a ball - Butter 6-inch glass pie-dish - Evenly distribute crust on plate and press firmly - Place in freezer while making filling

Persimmon Cream Pie Crust (from recipe book): - 3 ounces raw walnut halves - 2 teaspoons unsalted raw butter - 1 teaspoon unheated honey - Blenderize nuts, 2 teaspoons butter, and 1 teaspoon honey in 4-ounce jar on high speed using pulse-action for 5 seconds - Butter bottom and sides of serving bowl - Evenly distribute on bottom and press firmly - Place in freezer while making filling

Orange Chocolate Cheesecake Crust (from newsletter): - 1 cup raw walnut halves - 4 large raw Medjool dates, stones removed and chopped (room temperature) - 2 tablespoons unsalted raw butter (room temperature) - Place all ingredients in food processor and blend until ingredients begin to clump into a ball - Spread and press evenly into bottom of baking dish - Place in freezer to stiffen while making filling

From the recipe book: - 2 ounces walnut halves - ¼ stalk celery - ½ teaspoon fresh ginger root - 3 tablespoons coconut cream - ½ tablespoon unheated honey - 1 tablespoon chopped Thai basil or mint leaves (optional) - ½–4 tablespoons fresh hot peppers - Blenderize celery and ginger together and strain out pulp - Warm coconut cream in 4-ounce jar, capped with blender washer/blades/base, immersed in a bowl of mildly hot water for 5 minutes - Blenderize walnuts in 8-ounce jar until flour - Add juices, honey, and coconut cream and blenderize on medium speed for 10 seconds - If ingredients stick to bottom while blending, remove from blender, shake loose, then resume

Nut Butter/Nut Formula, 1 to 2 Servings: - 2–4 ounces raw pecans or walnuts, pine or hazel nuts, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, or peanuts - 4–8 tablespoons unsalted raw butter - 1–2 raw eggs - 1½–2 tablespoons unheated honey - Blenderize nuts in 8- or 12-ounce jar on high speed until they are flour - Add remaining ingredients and stir - Blenderize on medium speed for 20–25 seconds until smooth - Alternative: Substitute coconut cream for butter

• Half a cup of walnuts (or pecans, pine nuts, or macadamia if non-kiln-dried)
• Blend to powder
• Add peanut oil or butter and egg (butter first, raw cream second, peanut oil third)
• 1–2 tablespoons honey
• Optional: 1 teaspoon raw carob powder
• Blend together for a pudding-like treat

From the recipe book: - Blend pecans in 8-ounce jar on high speed until flour - Add remaining ingredients (egg, honey, butter, optional carob, optional vanilla) - Stir and blenderize on medium speed until smooth - Refrigerate to harden for 2 hours - Alternative 2: Substitute walnuts, pine, or hazelnuts for pecans

Aajonus shared pie-making technique: "If you use pecans, it tastes like butter pecan crust. The butter also seals it. Let's say you are making a fruit pie, and of course there is more moisture in it and the pie crust usually ends up mushy. When the crust is cold like that with the butter in it, it becomes sealed. So it stays crunchy. I only keep the crust in the freezer as long as it takes me to make the fill." This applies equally to walnut crusts.

He also noted in early training: "I always use half almonds with something else, either walnuts or pecans." This ratio preference for pie crusts was documented from early practice, though elsewhere in later teachings he emphasized almonds are very hard to digest.

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Walnut oil is not a recommended supplement or standalone food. It cannot be digested to any meaningful degree, only approximately 2% of nut oil is digestible by the human system. Moreover, walnut oil specifically has the property of lowering other fat levels and cholesterol levels in the body. On the Primal Diet, this is undesirable. Walnut oil appears naturally in the walnut when consumed in the nut formula, but its effects are managed and minimized by the formula's neutralizing combination. There is no instruction to consume walnut oil separately.

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This is one of the more important documented cases of food industry misrepresentation that Aajonus investigated and resolved with specific guidance. The correspondence in the Q&A sources documents the full investigation:

The discovery: A person researching Jaffe Brothers products found that organic raw walnuts from Jaffe Brothers, supplied by Ferrari Farms, are dehydrated at 110°F before being sold to the public. Jeff Ferrari explained this as industry standard: walnuts fresh off the tree are too wet and will mold if sold directly. They must be taken down to 8% moisture level, which requires dehydration at 110°F. Jeff Ferrari also stated that above 110°F the oil in the walnuts goes rancid.

The question to Aajonus: Are these products still raw by your standards? "I believe you also stated that anything above 100 degrees kills the food. Please correct me if I am wrong."

Aajonus's initial response: He first asked whether the walnuts were dried in the shell or shelled. He stated: "In shell is okay, but out of shell that temperature destroys many enzymes." He did not immediately confirm or deny the raw status, he made it contingent on the in-shell versus out-of-shell distinction.

Follow-up confirmation: The researcher reported back that Ferrari Farms and Gibson Farms both dehydrate walnuts in the shell at 110°F. Aajonus accepted this as adequate confirmation that these walnuts are acceptably raw for the diet.

Aajonus's disclosure of research failure: He stated: "Thank you for your research; it seems as though my worker is not being thorough enough. I am disappointed in my paid helper and those companies." He acknowledged his paid researcher had failed to uncover this information.

The key standard established: In-shell dehydration at 110°F = acceptable. Out-of-shell dehydration at 110°F = destroys many enzymes = not acceptable. This is the definitive standard for walnut sourcing on the Primal Diet.

Reputable farms identified: Ferrari Farms and Gibson Farms were both confirmed as following the in-shell protocol at 110°F and were described as "considered reputable and have been around for many years."

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