Whether they’re sprinkled on your morning cereal or enjoyed as an afternoon snack, a handful of nuts could be the next best thing when it comes to weight loss. Researchers from the University of South Australia have found that including nuts in calorie-controlled weight loss diets does not hinder weight loss. Instead, it might even have the opposite effect.
The team analysed the results of seven randomised controlled trials that assessed weight changes and glycaemic control in energy-restrictive (ER) diets. The researchers found that none of the studies produced an adverse effect to weight loss when nuts were included as part of the diet. Instead, four out of the seven studies showed that people who ate 42-84g of nuts as part of an ER diet achieved significantly more weight loss than those on ER diets without nuts.
Those following a "nut-enriched" ER diets achieved an extra 1.4-7.4 kg (3-16lbs) which may be related to the ability of nuts to help curb hunger efficiently.
And the researchers said that interestingly, in the studies that showed no difference in weight loss between ‘nut-enriched’ and ‘nut-free’ ER diets, the diets typically included fewer nuts. UniSA researcher Professor Alison Coates says nuts are a nutrient-rich food that should be included in weight-loss diets. She said: "People often avoid nuts when trying to lose weight because they think that the energy and fat content in nuts can contribute to weight gain.
“But in fact, nuts are rich in healthy .
