Newswise — Whether they’re sprinkled on your morning cereal or kept for an afternoon snack, a handful of nuts could be the next best thing when it comes to weight loss. New research from the University of South Australia shows that including nuts in calorie-controlled weight loss diets does not hinder weight loss, and instead may have the opposite effect. Analysing the findings of seven randomised controlled trials that assessed weight changes and glycaemic control in energy-restrictive (ER) diets, 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. Weight loss from the ‘nut-enriched’ ER diets achieved an extra 1.4-7.
4 kg which may be related to the ability of nuts to help curb hunger efficiently. 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. This is good news for people looking to manage their weight, particularly with the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data showing 67% of Australian adults are living with overweight or obesity.
UniSA researcher Professor Alison Coates says nuts are a nutrient-rich food that should be included in weight-loss diets. “People often avoid nuts when.
