Eating the Best Nuts for Weight Loss is Underrated
Nuts offer many health benefits such as reducing your risk for coronary artery disease and diabetes and possibly high blood pressure. Nuts are nutrient-rich foods that are easily transported, can be eaten anywhere and are affordable. Plus, they come in a variety of sizes and flavors and add protein to your diet. If you hesitate to eat nuts because of their high fat content, worry no more. Researcher Joan Sabate`, from the Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology at Loma Linda University in California, studied the effect of nuts on weight gain. She presented her results in the September 2003 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and found no correlation between weight gain and eating nuts. Of the 31,200 subjects in the study, those who were leaner ate nuts more frequently than subjects who did not. Eating the best nuts for weight loss is an underrated way to add healthy satiety to your life.
Other studies like the one conducted over 28 months in Spain showed that subjects who ate nuts more than twice a week were 31 percent less likely than non-nut eaters to gain weight. Subjects who frequently ate nuts showed a 0.42 kg less weight gain than those who did not eat nuts. Instead of worrying that nuts add extra calories and therefore excess weight to your diet, maybe this is a key to helping you lose weight. The results were similar for peanuts, almonds and walnuts which are all cholesterol-free and unsaturated fat.
Researchers give a few reasons for this nuts for weight loss result from eating a high-fat, high-calorie food. First, nuts provide protein and energy and nut eaters tend to be more physically active than those who do not eat nuts. The calories from the snack are therefore burned off during activity.
The second reason is a possible reduction in eating excess calories from other foods because nuts provide a longer-lasting feeling of fullness.
The University of California, Berkeley agrees with Sabate`s third reason that the body does not absorb all the fat from the nuts. Approximately 4% to 17%, depending upon the type, of a nuts fat is excreted. This increase in stool fat loss may contribute to weight loss or the lack of weight gain.
Best Nuts for Weight Loss
Although all nuts provide protein, fiber and healthy fat, different types of nuts have their own additional benefits:
Almonds are the highest in Vitamin E and calcium.
Cashews contain the most copper and zinc.
Peanuts have resveratrol, an anti-oxidant, arginine and the highest amount of protein.
Walnuts contain omega 3 fatty acids.
Hazelnuts contain high amounts of manganese.
Macadamia nuts are the highest in calories, yet contain iron, selenium and vitamin B6.
Chestnuts have the least amount of calories.
When selecting nuts for weight loss, use caution and read the sodium content to avoid an increase in blood pressure or water retention. When possible, select varieties of unsalted nuts. Also, limit your intake to one or two handfuls of nuts each day. You an also add nut butters such as peanut butter and almond butter into your diet for similar health benefits.
