Yes! Even if your genetics indicate that a low-fat diet would benefit you most for maximal weight loss, nuts are a great idea and should be included as one of your primary fat sources. (Remember, low fat diets are not “no fat” diets because fat is essential for your health.)

Nuts are very high in fat (albeit the “good for you” fat), and thus, very high in calories. So, it seems counterintuitive that eating nuts, even daily, would assist you in your weight loss efforts. But, hear me out. Over and over, research supports this concept and there are several reasons why.

First, even though nuts are high fat and high calorie, research suggests that not all of those calories are actually available to your body. For example, an ounce (about a handful) of raw almonds has about 170 calories, but research suggests that your body only gets about 110 calories of that energy. Why? Because, nuts are tough to digest, so your body needs to work hard to break them down to absorb them. Generally, it’s an inefficient process so about 35% never make it and gets excreted. (It’s kind of like eating only 65% of what you think you are eating.)

Then there’s the fiber. Nuts are generally high fiber foods. As you likely know, fiber makes you feel full, and thus, you’re likely to stop eating sooner with fibrous foods because even if you LOVE to eat, at some point, it gets to be too much. But, what you may not know about fiber is that some types, including the kind found in many nuts, also helps block some of the other food components (yes, I’m talking about fat and carbs) that are sitting alongside it in the gut. Some of the fiber in nuts helps form a “gel” in the gut during digestion, and it slows or even blocks some of the carbs and fats from getting absorbed into your body. Instead, it’s also excreted.

Oh, there’s more…Guess what? Nuts may increase your metabolism. That’s right. Research is still preliminary but according to some studies, they may be able to increase your body’s fat burning capacity in the interim. That’s already in addition to being hard to digest and high-fiber foods that make you feel full and delay or prevent some of the carbs and fat you ate from being absorbed by your body. Emerging research also shows that some of the naturally-occurring plant chemicals in nuts may help processes in the body that ultimately prevent excess weight gain. If you’re interested in learning more, here is a link to a study summarizing some of the research.