The Benefits Of Eating Nuts
Are you a nut eater?
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Wait, let me rephrase that because the way the question is currently constituted makes it seem like I have an interest in what goes on behind closed doors in the sanctity of your bedroom.
Sorry, but that’s none of my business!1In addition to the fact that I already know the answer because word has gotten around about your freak nasty ass.
No, what I meant to ask is do you eat any of the variety of edible kernels surrounded by a shell?
Are you that type of nut gobbler?
Well, you should be!
If you’re trying to lose weight or better manage it, countless studies have found that you can’t go wrong with nuts. One of the chief reasons why is because nuts are rich in fiber, which promotes satiety to help keep you feeling full longer. Also working toward that end is protein and fat. Both found in high amounts in nuts, those nutrients increase the production of peptide YY (PYY) and cholecystokinin (CCK), two hormones that regulate the appetite and produce a filling effect. In addition to the nutrient composition, the physical structure of nuts contributes to satiety as well because they require a lot of chewing before swallowing and that mechanical process helps stimulate the release of gut hormones like CCK and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) that suppress the hunger hormone ghrelin.
Nuts exert influence in some way to control hunger so you’re less likely to snack between meals or take in more food than necessary at subsequent feedings, which can drive down total calorie intake. That’s not the only way that weight accumulation is tempered by nuts. Another is that by eating nuts, the metabolism gets boosted, as the body burns additional calories because a greater amount of energy is needed to digest and process protein than any other macronutrient while the type of fat present in nuts is the unsaturated kind that increases fat oxidation, or the breakdown of stored fat into energy. Lastly, there’s the matter of calorie absorption. As it turns out, not all of the fat in nuts is bioavailable because some of it is contained in the cell walls that are too dense to access by mastication or during digestion. Consequently, as much as 25 percent of the calories in nuts aren’t absorbed by the body depending on the type and form. That means that less energy is taken in from nuts than what their caloric values have been determined as.
It’s for the outlined reasons that people who eat nuts as part of their regular diet tend to weigh less than individuals who eat nuts less frequently, as well as why dieters who eat nuts experience greater weight loss and better long-term weight management outcomes than those who don’t incorporate nuts into their weight loss efforts.
So what’s the takeaway from all this?
Yup, the central message is that you should step up your daily nut intake!
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Wait, let me rephrase that because I’ve once again stumbled into wording something purely innocent in such a way that can be easily misconstrued as not living up to the family-friendly standards of this site.
To clarify, the key point is that you should consume more of the foods that fall under the culinary classification of “nuts” because they contribute in a number of ways to weight management.2Botanically, “nuts” are defined as fruits with hard, protective shells that don’t open on their own to release an edible seed. Chestnuts, hazelnuts, and acorns fit this definition. More broadly in a food context, “nuts” are defined as anything with an edible kernel that has a similar appearance and nutrition profile to true nuts. Examples include walnuts, pecans, pistachios, and almonds, which are the seeds of drupes, a family of fruits with a hard shell and fleshy covering, of which peaches, plums, and cherries belong to; Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, and peanuts, which are angiosperm seeds, meaning they’re enclosed within an ovary of a flowering plant; and pine nuts, which are gymnosperms, or flowering plants that produce seeds that don’t have a protective enclosure. But not only that, there’s a mounting body of evidence to suggest that nuts confer health benefits for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, dementia, and certain cancers. Nuts may lessen the risk of these chronic conditions or help with their treatment thanks to their assortment of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, and phytosterols, in addition to their fiber and unsaturated fat content, all of which have their own respective effects.
Nuts have several advantages that call for their inclusion in your diet. Nevertheless, as beneficial as nuts are, it must be remembered that they’re easy to overeat and while all their calories aren’t able to be metabolized, the extra calories from eating more of them than you should can quickly add up. For this reason, it’s important to exercise portion control to make sure you’re consuming a moderate amount of nuts and no more if you’re not accounting for everything you consume. On that front, it’s best to limit your daily intake to one ounce (28g) of nuts and portion out your serving into a bowl or bag so you don’t eat out of the package and increase the possibility of overeating. Further, make sure to opt for plain, unsalted varieties of nuts instead of those with sugar, sodium, oil, and other ingredients that add calories or offset the metabolic effects of certain nutrients. Also, try to avoid roasted and/or chopped nuts because the processing destroys the cell walls and makes the fat more bioavailable for the body’s absorption, which isn’t the case with whole, raw nuts.3The same goes with blending nuts into a smoothie or other concoction, as well as using nut butters and nut oils.
Glossary: calories, diet, dietary fat, food, hormones, metabolism, vitamin
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