A low-fat raw vegan plan really is a diet inside a diet inside a diet. Vegan takes out every animal food. Raw takes out the stove. Low-fat then trims what is left. Each filter is a choice, but there is one kind of fat the last filter cannot remove, and this article is about fitting it in without undoing the "low-fat" part.
The fat you have to eat
The NHS explains that some omega-3 and omega-6 fats cannot be made by the body, so it is essential to include small amounts of them in your diet. Its advice for vegans is to eat nuts and seeds rich in omega-3, such as walnuts, every day. The vegan sources it lists are ground linseed (flaxseed) oil, vegetable (rapeseed) oil, chia seeds, shelled hemp seeds and walnuts.
Two of those five are bottled oils. If a low-fat plan drops bottled oils, that leaves chia, hemp and walnuts, plus whole flaxseed, which USDA records as carrying the most of the plant omega-3, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), of any food in the table below.
How much ALA is the target
A 2019 review in the journal Nutrients, by researchers at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, gives the Dietary Reference Intake figures: an Adequate Intake of 1.1g of ALA a day for women and 1.6g for men. The same review is careful about those numbers. It says it is unknown whether the Adequate Intakes are physiologically adequate, because dose-response studies are lacking.
It also reports that vegans have high intakes of linoleic acid, an omega-6 fat, compared with other eaters, and that high intakes of it interfere with the body's conversion of ALA into the longer omega-3s, EPA and DHA. It cites two suggestions on top of the Adequate Intake. Davis and Kris-Etherton propose that vegans double the ALA figure to about 1.1g per 1,000 kcal, at least 2.2g a day on 2,000 kcal. A position paper of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggests that the linoleic-to-ALA ratio should not go above 4:1.
What 1.6g of ALA costs in fat
The table works out, from USDA FoodData Central figures per 100g, how much of each food gives 1.6g of ALA and how much total fat and energy comes with it. For flaxseed, walnuts, kale, spinach and dates USDA gives one total 18:3 figure, which I have treated as ALA; for chia and hemp it splits the figure out, and the omega-3 part is used.
| Food (USDA, raw or dried) | ALA per 100g | Amount for 1.6g ALA | Fat in that amount | kcal in that amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flaxseed | 22.8g | 7g | 3.0g | 37 |
| Chia seeds | 17.8g | 9g | 2.8g | 44 |
| Walnuts | 9.08g | 17.6g | 11.5g | 115 |
| Hemp seeds, hulled | 8.68g | 18.4g | 9.0g | 102 |
| Kale | 0.378g | 423g | 6.3g | 148 |
| Spinach | 0.138g | 1.16kg | 4.5g | 267 |
By the NHS label guide, a food with more than 17.5g of fat per 100g counts as high in fat and one with 3g or less as low. Every seed and nut here is far over the high line (flaxseed 42.2g, chia 30.7g, hemp 48.8g, walnuts 65.2g). Per day, though, the picture changes. Seven grams of flaxseed or nine of chia covers the 1.6g with about 3g of fat. Walnuts need about four times that fat for the same ALA. By USDA's figures they also carry 38.1g of 18:2 fat per 100g against 9.08g of 18:3; treating those as linoleic acid and ALA gives a ratio of about 4.2 to 1, just past the 4:1 line. Flaxseed (5.9g against 22.8g) and chia (5.84g against 17.8g) sit well under 1 to 1.
The greens show why "just eat more leaves" is a weak plan for this one nutrient. Kale is low in fat by the NHS line, at 1.49g per 100g, yet you would need over 400g of it for 1.6g of ALA, and well over a kilo of spinach. Avocado lists only 0.111g of ALA per 100g alongside 14.7g of fat.
Where dates fit
Dates are close to fat-free in USDA's tables: 0.15g of fat per 100g for Medjool and 0.39g for Deglet Noor. They are no help with ALA, though. The Deglet Noor record lists 0.003g of 18:3 per 100g, and the Medjool record gives no figure for it at all. So on a low-fat raw plan, dates bring sweetness without fat and leave the omega-3 work to a few grams of seed. Nine grams of chia stirred into chopped dates covers both in one bowl.
Kurma Rotab Green Diamond explains that kurma rotab is a date picked at the soft, moist stage just before it ripens fully and sold fresh rather than dried. This site deals in Sayer dates; see about Sayer Dates for who we are, the contact page for questions, and the Sayer Dates blog for other articles.