Peanuts in weight management: Why energy dense foods don’t have to ruin the diet

While peanuts pack a sizeable caloric punch, epidemiological data consistently shows that high intakes of peanuts (and nuts in general) are associated with lower incidence of obesity, while intervention trials also show that peanuts elicit strong dietary compensation (​if you eat peanuts in the morning, you’ll spontaneously reduce your food intake later in the day), said Dr Richard Mattes, distinguished professor of foods and nutrition at Purdue University.

Meanwhile, we don’t absorb all of the energy in whole nuts, which means we may be overstating snack peanuts’ calorie content, while there is emerging evidence that regular consumption of peanuts and other nuts raises our resting metabolic rate, effectively neutralizing a further percentage of the energy obtained from nuts, he said.

As peanuts are low GI (glycemic index) foods, they can also be used to mitigate the effects of a high-carb breakfast on blood glucose, helping prevent spikes in blood sugar that will persist through lunch as well.

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