You might find this such a conflicting point about eating nuts: They’re so good for you, but they’re high in calories and fat (even though that fact is so often followed up with, “But it’s healthy fat!”). If you’ve ever experienced this struggle, now may be time to rejoice with a handful of nuts. Authors of a new weight loss study are revealing their revolutionary finding: Not only do nuts not cause weight gain, but they may actually turbo-boost your slim-down efforts.
Keep reading to get the full details on the study, and for more, check out One Major Effect of Eating Walnuts, New Study Says.
A nutritional sciences doctoral student at the University of Toronto performed a four-year meta-analysis that’s been published in Obesity Reviews. Together with John Sievenpiper, an associate professor of nutritional sciences and medicine at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Stephanie Nishi assessed the results from 121 studies that had collectively included more than half a million participants.
RELATED: Sign up for the Eat This, Not That! newsletter for nutrition news you need
According to Medical Xpress, the two looked at studies that featured many kinds of nuts and their effects on the health of individuals experiencing a number of medical conditions.
RELATED: One Major Effect Cashews Have on Your Heart, Studies Say
After they ran statistics to ascertain the quality of the data they had, Nishi concluded: “Overall, we found there is no association between nuts and weight gain,” adding, “In fact, some analyses showed higher nut intake associated with reductions in body weight and waist circumference.”
Sievenpiper affirmed the discovery, stating, “That’s a good indication of no harm from nuts relative to weight gain—no more than any other foods—and there may indeed be a benefit of weight loss in addition to the other widely acknowledged health benefits of nuts.”
Both researchers shared that they frequently eat a handful-sized amount of nuts. In particular, Nishi admitted to eating more now “especially due to the evidence supporting their health benefits, but also because of their versatility in the kitchen and on the go.”
Other research recently discovered that one nut may be most effective at fighting inflammation.
For more on food and wellness, keep reading: