This popular snack was thought to cause weight gain, but it actually reduces belly fat

nutrition

by Brooke Steinberg

This myth turns out to be wrong.

For decades, it was widely believed that eating nuts would make you gain weight.

Tree nuts in particular are high in calories and fat, leading to skepticism about whether they should be part of a healthy diet.

However, a groundbreaking new study published in the journal Nutrients reveals that nuts do not cause weight gain and may actually lead to a loss of belly fat.

Scientists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center studied 84 millennial adults (ages 22 to 36) who have an increasing prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetSx), a group of conditions that increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes. did.

Millennials had at least one MetSx risk factor, including high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal blood cholesterol levels.

Participants were given either 1 ounce of unsalted mixed nuts, such as pistachios, or 1 ounce of carbohydrate-based snacks, such as unsalted pretzels or graham crackers, twice a day for 16 weeks. They made no additional dietary restrictions or lifestyle changes.

“We were able to investigate the independent effects of eating tree nuts on body weight by ensuring that the number of calories participants ate during the 16-week intervention period matched the amount of calories they expended each day. “This is one of the overall strengths of the study design and results,” Heidi J. Silver, Ph.D., RD ​​at VUMC, said in a news release.

Researchers found that the group that consumed nuts had significant health benefits, with a 67% reduced risk of MetSx in women and a 42% reduced risk of MetSx in men.

There were no changes in energy intake or body weight over the 16-week period in the nut-eating group.

For women, a study found that eating tree nuts can reduce belly fat, which can lead to MetSx, diabetes, and heart disease. For men, research has shown that eating tree nuts lowers blood insulin levels.

The group that ate tree nuts was also able to convert fat consumption into energy more efficiently than the group that ate carbohydrate-based snacks. This may be why the group that ate nuts was unable to maintain weight or fat.

“This carefully designed and well-controlled study shows that eating tree nuts like pistachios does not necessarily lead to weight gain and could be an important part of everyone's self-health care routine by 2024. ,” Silver explained.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans claim that more than half of Americans currently do not meet the daily recommended intake of 5 to 7 ounces of nuts and seeds per week.

However, the authors noted that further research is needed on the cardiometabolic response to tree nuts in other subgroups of the population.