How Eating Nuts Can Help Slim You Down
Do you like snacking on nuts? If so, then here’s some good news: the regular consumption of the crunchy stuff, no matter the variety, can actually help you lose weight and feel more energized with every serving.
So if you’re on your way to a healthier body or you simply want to drop off a couple of annoying pounds, then all you have to do is to continue your nut-snacking habit while exercising regularly and watching your calorie intake. Best of all, you can consume nuts in any which way you want to get this particular benefit—from the handful like everyone usually does to more unique and tasty ways such as drinking a glassful of delicious milked nuts from Elmhurst.
On the off-chance that you’re not convinced, however, here are the biggest reasons why eating nuts can help you slim down.
Nuts are high in fat and calories, giving you a lot of energy for a lot less.
When it comes to giving you a significant and healthy boost of energy for your workouts, nothing can top nuts. This is because they contain a large amount of unsaturated fat, which not only gives you the energy you need to get through the day, but it also protects you from deadly conditions such as heart disease. Best of all, you won’t have to worry about crashing with them, like you would with other energy boosters such as sugar and caffeine.
Nuts can help reduce appetite and increase satiety.
Studies have shown that regularly including nuts into your diet can help reduce your appetite and make you feel full for a longer period of time. This is thought to be due to the increased production of the hormones peptide YY (PYY) and cholecystokinin (CCK) upon consumption of nuts, both of which can help regulate appetites. The theory is that the high protein and high unsaturated fat content in nuts is responsible for this effect.
Nuts can help clear out your bowels and aid digestion.
The high fiber content in nuts can help aid digestion by forcing food to move through your bowels much more quickly and easily. This prevents the complete and total absorption of the fat and other unnecessary nutrients in the food that you eat, while also helping you void your bowels much more efficiently and completely. This can lead to weight loss as well as a reduction in digestive problems.
Nuts are high in protein, which can help develop your muscles and aid weight loss.
One of the key tenets of weight loss is to build muscle. Bigger and more developed muscles not only look good on a slim and fitter frame, but they also make you burn a lot more fat from your daily intake by increasing your metabolism. Supplement your high-protein diet with nuts and you’re sure to pack on the fat-burning muscle as well as lose some pounds.
Now that we know how nuts can help you lose weight, here are the specific nut varieties that are known for their weight loss-aiding properties.
- Almonds. Almonds are considered one of nature’s “superfoods” due to their high protein, antioxidant, and heart-healthy fat content. Studies have shown that consuming a diet high in almonds can easily help lower body fat, decrease waist circumference, and lower blood pressure. They also taste amazing either on their own or as ingredients in cuisine.
- Cashews. Cashews not only taste great, but they’re also high in magnesium, a nutrient essential in metabolizing fat and carbohydrates. An adequate amount of magnesium in your diet helps you use the food you’re taking in as energy, rather than them being absorbed as fat.
- Walnuts. Walnuts offer the same amount of satiety-inducing and fat-burning properties as other nuts, as well as high levels of polyunsaturated fats. Polyunsaturated fats can decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease as well as stimulate your metabolism, helping you burn fat faster.
Conclusion
Break through your weight-loss plateau and get the body you deserve by including more nuts in your diet. Doing so will help give you the energy you need and burn the fat in your body more efficiently, while also giving you essential nutrients and vitamins that’ll make you feel better in the long run.