How eating nuts can help you lose weight

Salty peanuts. Crunchy almonds. Buttery walnuts. Nuts seem like the guiltiest of gustatory pleasures, the savoury equivalent of jellybeans or gumdrops. Yet the scientific evidence clearly shows that nuts are anything but junk food. Packed with fibre, protein and healthful fats, not to mention vitamins and minerals, nuts can help satisfy your appetite and may even help you control your weight.

Your grocer may stock them next to the candy, but don't be fooled. Study after study paints the same picture: nibbling on nuts won't make you fat. In fact, it may even have the opposite effect.

• If you know anything about the composition of nuts, that may sound, well, nuts. After all, by weight, one-half to three-quarters of a nut is fat. And doesn't eating fat make you fat? Not in this case.
• Several major population studies involving thousands of people have looked for evidence that nuts lead to weight gain, and they found none. To the contrary, studies have shown that people who eat nuts (including peanuts, which are technically legumes) as part of their regular diet weigh less than people who don't eat them.
• One study found that the typical nut eater had a body mass index (BMI, a measurement of weight relative to height) that was five percent lower than that of the average non-nut eater.

It's possible that the results are skewed by other factors. Perhaps nut lovers simply live healthier lives than people who don't eat nuts, and perhaps some of the obese people surveyed began to avoid nuts after they already had a weight problem.

• What's clear is that nuts contain an ideal mix of fibre, protein and fat that helps fill you up and keep you full.
• Snacks that don't contain protein — and many don't — tend to satisfy hunger for shorter periods.

Furthermore, some of that fat in nuts will never find its way to your thighs or hips. Your body doesn't absorb chewed nuts efficiently during digestion, so a portion of their fat is excreted. And peanuts contain resveratrol, the antioxidant that's also found in red wine and that animal studies suggest may help prevent obesity.

• Moderation is essential, of course.
• Nuts are quite high in calories, but most dietitians say that 25 grams (one ounce) of nuts per day — as a snack or as a replacement for meat in an entrée — can fit into most meal plans.

Nuts are a top source of healthful fats and fibre, but they can break your calorie budget if you're not careful. Keep these tips in mind and consume them moderately for the best results!