Nuts and Weight Management

While many understand that nuts and seeds are relatively high in fat content, it can be difficult to understand how they can be used in weight management. The truth is, they are highly effective in helping both lose weight and keep it off. Many of those who are overweight become this way because they find it difficult to curb cravings. Nuts contain good fats, and, when taken in controlled portions, they can do numbers in keeping dieters from opting for the unhealthy alternatives that surround us.

A Number of Health Benefits

Weight management requires the dieter to be conscious of more than just the number they see on the scale. Overall health is important in understanding how to best manage your weight, and nuts offer a number of natural health benefits that will help keep weight off in a healthful manner. For starters, they are high in protein and other crucial nutrients the body needs to stay healthy. Nuts such as walnuts and Brazil nuts have a high content of Omega 3 fatty acids.

Researchers at Loma Linda University in California have also suspected the many health benefits of nuts, and their research has also shown that those who eat nuts five times per week observed a decline in bad cholesterol by 12 percent. While the study used walnuts, this has also been observed with other nuts including peanuts and walnuts. With a natural way to manage cholesterol, it is easier for people to manage their weight.

Key is Satiety

Many are skeptical regarding the idea that nuts can be used to help manage weight. In fact, it can be easy to believe the exact opposite. After all, a single ounce of nuts can carry as many as 200 calories, and it can seem counterproductive to reason that they can help a concerned dieter lose weight and keep it off. However, there are other considerations that must be understood. First of all, satiety is the feeling that you are full and a meal or snack has successfully satisfied your hunger. It has been shown that foods high in protein also provide that “full” feeling more easily. So, in fact, dieters can achieve that feeling by opting to snack on nuts rather than other options such as carrot sticks or celery.

Further research has indicated a pattern in those who snack on nuts during the day being less likely to need further snacks later on. While the nuts do have a high calorie content, the fact that later snacks will not be consumed makes up for the intake. Researchers also believe there is a link between the crunchiness of nuts and the feeling of satiety.

Don’t Forget the Cell Wall

Another point that most don’t consider about nuts and weight management is that nuts have tough cell walls, and as much as 20 percent of the fat content of nuts are never even absorbed by the body. The fats that are absorbed are highly unsaturated and not as widely associated with heart disease as saturated fats.

If you are trying to lose weight, there is much evidence to suggest that snacking on nuts during the day can be beneficial both in getting the weight off and keeping it off. With scientific research to back these claims, it is certainly worth a shot.

Sources:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/nuts/art-20046635
http://www.llu.edu/public-health/news/news-nuts-improve-blood-lipids.page
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18296329
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/86/1/206.full.pdf
http://ucanr.edu/datastoreFiles/608-33.pdf