New research from the University of Barcelona suggests that a small snack of nuts can help in weight loss. Specifically, as little as a daily ounce of walnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds can contribute to the weight loss effort.
“An increased excretion of serotonin metabolites was associated for the first time with nut consumption,” says the official report. Serotonin is a hormone that has a reputation for decreasing appetite and improving heart health—a double benefit for travelers on the road to weight loss!
This isn’t news to the University of Barcelona, which has heralded nuts as a healthy diet option for years now. Just last year, they published a list of ten ways nuts contribute to a healthy diet. Besides the serotonin boost, they list the following:
- Nuts are a whole food that has been consumed by humans throughout history.
- Nuts are energy-dense foods, rich in total fat and unsaturated fatty acids, fiber, minerals, and bioactive phytochemicals with antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties. In nuts, the whole is greater than the parts.
- Incorporating various kinds of nuts in a healthy diet has shown a consistent cholesterol lowering effect that is dose related and more pronounced in persons with higher baseline cholesterol.
- The daily inclusion of a handful of nuts in the usual diet can be of benefit for healthy individuals and those with hypercholesterolemia and type 2 diabetes.
So stock up on some tasty nuts! They’re good for you, and they’re a decorative snack to have around the house for the holidays! Be careful not to counteract their benefit, though—we recommend unsalted nuts to keep from taking in too much sodium.
As our friends in Barcelona say, salud!