According to research by Harvard University (oh yes, the very best from the USA darling), results show that adults who nibbled on just 14g of nuts during the day put on less weight and were 16% less likely to become obese compared to those who would snack on crisps and unhealthy carb-heavy snacks.
This adds to other studies which show that nuts can play a role in regulating our weight. The studies have all found that replacing less nutritious, high calorie snacks such as biscuits, cakes & chocolate with nuts increases your intake of healthy fats and protein, meaning your body craves less sugar and carbs.
Not only that but because nuts can be firm and crunchy, they take longer to chew and increase feelings of fullness and satisfaction. Furthermore, not all fats from the nuts are fully digested & absorbed into our body, meaning we get fewer calories from them than what is on the label.
"A handful of nuts or seeds during the day can help alleviate any cravings or hunger, filling you with something which is highly nutritious rather than a quick sugary fix, which your body will want to replace with even more sugary fixes when the first lot wears off" says our in-house nutritionist, Natasha.
"Mixing it up can also get you a mixture of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and protein - try pistachios, cashews, almonds, peanuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, sunflower seeds and flax seed. You can add them to your meals or take a small pot of them with you to the office".
So what does 14 grams of nuts look like?
20 pistachio nuts
15 almonds
15 hazelnuts
11 whole peanuts
10 whole cashew nuts
10 pecan halves
6 walnut halves
6 macadamia nuts
5 brazil nuts