Handful of nuts every day can stop you overeating

A HANDFUL of walnuts a day can suppress hunger and make you feel full, according to research.

The study involved 26 men and women, aged 18 to 35, who were placed on a seven-day diet high in polyunsaturated fats (PUFAS). They then consumed meals high in saturated fats.

Changes in the participants’ hormone levels were recorded as they were asked how hungry they felt.

Both diets contained the same number of calories and percentage of fat.

The Pufa-rich diet included whole foods such as walnuts, Alaskan salmon, tuna, flaxseed oil, grapeseed oil, canola oil and fish oil supplements.

Walnuts are unique among nuts because they are mainly comprise PUFAS. Every ounce – about seven whole walnuts – contains 13 grams of PUFA out of 18 grams of total fat.

Those who consumed the diet high in PUFAS had a significant decrease in ghrelin, a hormone that increases hunger. Meanwhile, there was a similar increase in peptide YY (PYY), a hormone that increases fullness or satiety.

Professor Jamie Cooper, a nutritionist from the University of Georgia, in the US, said: “Appetite hormones play an important role in regulating how much we eat.

“These findings tell us that eating foods rich in PUFAS, like those found in walnuts, may favourably change appetite hormones so we can feel fuller for longer.”

Prof Cooper, whose study was funded by the California Walnut Commission, added that larger and longer term studies were now required. More clinical trials are also needed to determine the optimal intake of dietary PUFAS to offer the greatest health benefit.

The findings were published in the journal Nutrition.