The Best Snack Food For Weight Loss

If water counted as a food I would say it is the #1 snack food for weight loss. Since water isn’t food my top pick, after a whole lot of research, is that nuts are your best snack food for weight loss.

Why is this the case?

Well, let’s look at water first…

Often times when people are feeling a hunger craving they are actually feeling a water craving. Other times they actually have a nutrient deficiency and don’t even know it, but that is a topic for another time.

One of the best ways to lose weight is to simply replace all your drinks with water. This will cut out a lot of unnecessary calories, mostly in the form of sugars you don’t need.

Filling up on water also helps to prevent hunger pangs. I actually just found out another interesting thing when researching stuff for this article. (Did you know that if you know you are getting enough water, and still have a water craving, you could be at risk for diabetes? Good to consult your doctor on that one)

Anyhow, enough of the rabbit trails. Let’s talk about why I am nuts for nuts!

In all my research about nuts the only thing I could find negative about them is that they can cause inflammation in the body.

Here are all the great things about nuts:

1. They have a good mix of all the macro-nutrients: fat, protein, carbohydrates.
2. They are very filling, and are easily one of the best foods to carry you through to lunch or dinner.
3. They have many great micro-nutrients in them including calcium, potassium, and magnesium.
4. “Our epidemiological studies have shown eating about one ounce of nuts every day will reduce the risk of heart disease in the long run by 30%,” Frank Hu, MD, PhD, associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, said in July 2003.
5. There is an epidemic of type 2 diabetes in the U.S., but research suggests that nuts may lower the risk. Women who eat nuts at least five times a week had a 30% reduction in diabetes risk over women who never ate nuts, according to a study in the Nov. 27, 2002, issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.
6. Dieters also stick with their eating plans longer if nuts are included, according to a December 1999 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Dieters did not feel like they were on a diet when they were allowed to eat nuts.

To avoid any of the downsides of nuts you need to eat them in controlled portions. This will help to prevent any type of inflammation problems from overeating and make sure that you don’t get too many extra calories in any given day.

If you would like to read more about nuts and nutrition then you should read the University of Nebraska’s newsletter that they compiled detailing a lot of the studies and nutrition facts about nuts @ Nuts and Your Health.

If you want to know some other great snack foods then check out the ehow “The Best Snack Foods for Weight Loss” Article.

What kind of snack foods work for you?

And… Have you been eating your Salad For Breakfast? 😉