Nuts such as almonds, brazils,cashews,hazelnuts,macademias, pine nuts and walnuts have unique properties that make them superstar partners in any weight loss diet.

Below are the top 3 reasons you should include them in your fitness and diet regime.

1. Nuts satisfy hunger

Nuts contain 20% protein, giving meat a run for its money, almonds being the highest. Its this high protein content together with generous amounts of protein that helps suppress appetite. The relatively high fat content also adds to this property.

A small handful (30g) of nuts can mean you eat less food later in the day and therefore control your overall calorie intake. Compared with processed cereal bars, nuts are likely to keep you satisfied for longer.

2. Less calories are absorbed in nuts.

Because they are a natural whole food, the fat in nuts may be more difficult to get at to digest, mainly due to the fibre acting as a barrier. The small amount of undigested dietary fat will pass through the digestive system rather than being absorbed and stored as body fat.

3. Nuts use up more calories to digest

Studies have measured the resting metabolic rate of people eating nuts and there is a small increase in calorie burning. About 10% of the energy in nuts may be used up in digesting and absorbing them. in essence,this means every 10th nut you eat will be calorie free!!!

So whether you are slimming or just trying to maintain your weight, nuts are amazing tools to include. However you will still need to be careful with portion size! A daily handful of about 30g is the best place to start.

When can I eat nuts?

Nuts are great as a snack, but are really really good at staving off post-lunch hunger. By mid afternoon levels of galanin (a hormone) will have risen and this may trigger cravings especially for fatty foods! Nuts, as they have a relatively high fat content are great for satisfying galanin and keeping you away from cakes, biscuits and chocolate!

Different nuts have different properties and advantages. There is no definite winner, and you are best to eat a variety of different nuts.

Here are some example of nut superstars (per 100g)

Almonds-20g of protein

Hazelnuts-10.4g of fibre

Walnuts- 6.2g of omega 3

Pistachio- 950mg of potassium

Almonds- 235mg of calcium

How you can increase your nut intake.

Add them to breakfast cereal

Add them to smoothies (particularly walnuts)

Add to salads to give some crunch!

Mix with fruit and seeds

Add walnuts to soft cheese and apples

Eat a handful before bed to ensure morning regularity!!