>>
>>Why do you think humans are not nut eaters?

>Primates eat a small amount of nuts on occasion, I know, but nuts seem to be
>purely for the propagation of the plant, and not simply a delivery vehicle
>like fruit, don't they?

the fact that they are edible and eaten by squirels or  rodents is
precisely
a way that the tree "choose" to  propagate themselves ( In my garden i
have
nuts trees growing all over the place because of the burrying of nuts
by
thoses animals or from me throwing my compost all over the garden ( I
make
lot of effort to eat all the nuts but i still leave, by accident,
always,
some uncracked nuts in my pile of shell.)

>I seem to have problems with them, and think it's
>best to keep the body alkaline, instead of acidic, and I believe nuts move
>the body towards acidosis (anyone feel free to correct this).  Tannins,
>enzyme inhibitors, are other apparent antinutrients for humans, and are in
>nuts...

The problems experienced with nuts is often related to two causes .
_ quality of nuts in store is very poor ( shelled and rancid , in
shell but
  dried at high temperature, old and stored improperly )
_ unbalanced ratio of omega 3s and omega 6s fatty acids.
  the lack of fat of animal origin in one diet lead to overconsumption
of fats
  of vegetal origin ( which are almost always too rich in omegas 6 s
and
  deficient in omega 3 s.

The real fats needs , getting never met that way,  the attraction for
fats
is great and lead to overeating of oils ,nuts or avocados ( when it is
the
only source alowed in one diet)
>
>Yes, we can soak and sprout, but does that seem a likely behavior in a
>natural environment?  Certainly they can help sustain us to some extent in
>some circumstances.

Naturally the  temperate nuts stay mature but rehydrated on the ground
all
winter or get burried  in humid environment , for latter use .
I let my nuts dried  naturally,  store them dry and often choose to
leave
them in the rain  for few days before eating them . Even when i eat
them dry
when i am  listening to the instinctive response ,they are easely
digested .

I think nuts are very important in the diet of humans all along their
evolution , and problems arised  when the meats and nuts have been
replaced
by grains. ( archeological researchs on a site in Illinois show that
very
clearly, they have been replaced by wild rice there )
jean-claude