Nut butter is a versatile, nutrient-dense snack that goes well with both salty and sweet foods. Danila Savchenko – the founder of a healthy food start-up company called Purithea and a professional fashion model – explains why nut butter can be good for weight loss.
While nut butter has a special place in the cabinet in many homes, you may wonder if it is suitable for weight loss. While some argue that nut butter’s high calorie and fat content can lead to weight gain, others say that a high dose of protein and vitamins can help control weight.
Nutritional Value
Nut butter is rich in healthy fats, proteins, fiber, and many essential vitamins and minerals. These nutrients can help you lose weight, as the best diets include plenty of nutrient-rich foods to adequately meet your dietary needs. For example, a serving of ONE NUT cashew nut butter with two tablespoons (32 grams) offers:
- Calories 160
- Total Fat 14g
- Saturated Fat 3g
- Trans Fat 0g
- Cholesterol 0mg
- Sodium 0mg
- total Carbohydrate 8g
- Dietary Fiber 1g
- Total Sugar 0g
- Included 0g Added Sugars
- Protein 5g
- Vitamins: B1, B3, B6, E, K, PP
- Microelements: Copper, manganese, cobalt, iron, boron, chromium-vanadium, molybdenum, zinc, rubidium, silver
- Macroelements: Magnesium, potassium, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur
It is noteworthy that most of the calories come from unsaturated fats. Replacing saturated fats in your diet with unsaturated ones can lower cholesterol levels and your overall risk of heart disease. One serving of nut butter also provides between 5-10 percent of your daily fiber needs. Higher fiber intake is associated with a lower body mass index (BMI) and other benefits.
Nut Butter May Reduce Appetite
Nut butter can also help achieve your weight loss goals due to its ability to reduce appetite. In a study of 15 obese people, with three meals a day, those who added 42.5 grams (about three tablespoons) of nut butter to their breakfast experienced significantly greater satiety and less desire to eat more than a control group.
Some studies have also linked consumption of nuts to greater food satisfaction and improved metabolism in ways that support weight control.
Protein contributes to satiety and fat burning
The high protein content of nut butter helps curb your appetite. Protein comprises about 17 percent of the calories in walnut nut butter – two tablespoons (32 grams) contain about five grams. Eating enough protein can increase feelings of fullness, potentially reducing your desire to keep eating. In turn, this can promote weight loss. Here you can find out which foods saturate the best.
Eating enough protein is also important for maintaining muscle mass while losing weight, as muscles are important for maintaining your strength. Metabolism will slow down if you lose too much muscle, making it harder to lose weight further. Including protein-rich foods such as nut butter in a low-calorie diet can accelerate fat loss more than a diet without enough protein.
High-calorie nut butter
One of the main reasons dieters avoid nut butter is its high calorie and fat content. It does contain a lot of calories, providing about 170 calories per two tablespoons (32 grams) serving. Plus, over 75 percent of these calories come from fat. When you consume more calories than you burn, weight gain can occur. This is why calorie control is one of the basic tenets of almost any weight loss diet.
However, when deciding which foods to include in your diet, it’s not just calories that need to be considered. Nut butter also contains protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants – all of which contribute to good health. Because this product contains nutrient-rich, high-quality calories, 180 calories of walnut nut butter will have stronger health benefits than 180 calories of ultra-processed “diet” food.
Conclusion
Of course, it doesn’t mean that you can consume as much nut butter as you like. If you start eating a lot of it without taking into account the extra calories, you can thwart your weight loss efforts. As with any food, moderation is key here. Ultimately, the diet must be tailored to your preferences and nutritional needs. Eating nut butter along with other nutritious foods is very beneficial as long as you don’t exceed your calorie needs.
