Five reasons to go nuts this winter
Five reasons to go nuts this winter
Snacking on a handful of nuts a day could help avoid the unwanted kilo creep this winter.
Nuts for Life Dietitian Belinda Neville says snacking on nutrient-rich nuts is a great and easy way to combat unhealthy eating habits that often arise as the weather turns cold.
“During the cold weather, your metabolism revs up to warm your body, making you hungrier,” said Ms Neville. “This can leave you craving foods like creamy pastas, pies and other heavy meals, but comfort eating doesn’t need to weigh you down.
“Choosing healthier foods that have a combination of good fats, protein and fibre, like nuts, can curb cravings and help keep you feeling fuller for longer – so you are less likely to over eat at your next meal.
“As well as helping to manage your weight, a handful of nuts a day provides important nutrients for immunity, heart health and can even lower the GI of carb-rich meals.”
Here are Nuts for Life dietitian Belinda Neville’s top five reasons to go nuts this winter:
1. Boost satiety
Nuts are a rich source of healthy unsaturated fats – the ‘good’ type of fat that helps to switch on satiety hormones in your gut, helping to reduce hunger pangs [1-3]. Nuts have also been shown to help manage body weight with their combination of protein, fibre and fat, keeping you feeling fuller for longer and thereby helping to control our overall daily food intake [1-7].
2. Burn more calories
Yes, nuts are high in heart-healthy fats, but that doesn’t mean that they will make you fat! Studies show that regularly eating a 30g handful of nuts can actually help to boost your metabolic rate by 5-10 per cent [6], increasing the amount of calories burned [3,6,7]. Also, because we don’t actually absorb all of the fat found in nuts, there’s no reason to pass them up!
3. Lower the GI of high-carb meals
Nuts have a glycemic index-lowering effect [8-10]. When they are mixed with carbohydrate foods in a meal – like adding pine nuts to your pasta – they help to slow the digestion and release of glucose into your bloodstream, which helps to satisfy your appetite for longer.
4. Support immunity
Most nuts contain a host of important vitamins and minerals. Cashews are particularly high in zinc, a powerful nutrient required for strong immune function, while Brazil nuts are high in selenium, an important trace mineral that also helps support immunity. In fact, just two Brazil nuts provide your recommended daily intake of selenium.
5. Protect your heart
Studies show that eating a 30g handful of nuts a day can help to lower your risk of heart diseases [11,12]. The combination of antioxidants, healthy polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, and fibre can contribute to better heart health. Macadamias are the top nut source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and a tasty way to give your heart some love.
References
- Pasman WJ et al. The effect of Korean pine nut oil on in vitro CCK release, on appetite sensations and on gut hormones in post-menopausal overweight women. Lipids Health Dis. 2008:20; 7:10.
- Hughes GM et al. The effect of Korean pine nut oil (PinnoThin) on food intake, feeding behaviour and appetite: a doubleblind placebo-controlled trial. Lipids Health Dis 2008; 7:6.
- Cassady BA et al. Mastication of almonds: effects of lipid bioaccessibility, appetite, and hormone response. Am J Clin Nutr 2009;89(3):794-800.
- Noakes M. The role of protein in weight management. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2008; 17(S1):169-71.
- Pereira MA et al. Dietary fiber and body-weight regulation. Observations and mechanisms. Pediatr Clin North Am 2001; 48(4):969-80.
- Mattes R. The energetics of nut consumption. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 2008; 17(S1):337-9.
- Ellis PR et al. Role of cell walls in the bioaccessibility of lipids in almond seeds. Am J Clin Nutr 2004;80:604-13.
- Jenkins DJ et al. Almonds decrease postprandial glycemia, insulinemia, and oxidative damage in healthy individuals. J Nutr 2006;136(12):2987-92.
- Josse AR et al. Almonds and postprandial glycemia—a dose-response study. Metabolism 2007;56(3):400-4.
- Kendall C et al. Effect of pistachios on postprandial glucose and insulin levels and gut satiety hormone responses. FASEB J 2009; 23(1-Meeting Abstracts):563.2.
- Aune D. et al. Nut consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease, total cancer, all-cause and cause-specific mortality: a systematic review and dose response meta-analysis of prospective studies. BMC Med, 2016. 14(1):p 207.
- Neale E. et al The effect of nut consumption on heart health: an updated systematic review of the literature. 2018. Nuts for Life, unpublished.
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