Health Experts Reveal Eating Too Much Nuts Can Lead To Weight Gain And Digestive Issues

Health and balanced diets often include a handful or spoonful of nuts like almonds, walnuts, pistachios, and many more. They have always been associated with lower cholesterol, better heart health, and weight loss, but eating too many, however, can cause the opposite.

Nutty Benefits

Nuts are rich in healthy fats, antioxidants, protein, vitamins, fiber, and minerals. Health experts say they can help improve your energy and have also been found to play a role in longevity. Best of all, they can be consumed as it is or as an ingredient in one of your favorite dishes. “The benefits of nuts definitely outweigh any other drawbacks or cons,” according to Jerlyn Jones, R.D.N., L.D. Jones is the owner of The Lifestyle Dietitian, and she is also the spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Grabbing a handful as a delicious snack whenever you are hungry is easy to do. Jones said nuts are delicious snacks, and it becomes easy to forget the recommended daily serving size. She says that a handful of nuts is just about a fourth of a cup, which is roughly the measure for the recommended serving. Consuming more than what is suggested for a daily serving may cause a host of side effects.

Weight Gain

Health experts say that consuming more than the recommended handful each day can cause you to gain weight. Jones explained that since nuts are calorie-dense, they contain more energy for each ounce compared to many other foods. For instance, an ounce of almonds has about 160 calories, which means that if you double your serving, you are already packing in 320 calories for a simple snack. This is on top of the extra calories of the meals you eat throughout the day.

To make sure this does not happen, try to stay within the recommended serving. You could also fit the nuts in with your regular balanced diet. For instance, you can add almonds to your low-calorie salad to make it more filling.

Digestive Issues And Bloating May Happen

Eating too many nuts can cause you to feel bloated or gassy. This condition is a common side effect of consuming lots of nuts. Health experts say that tannins and phytates, which are compounds in nuts that make them difficult to digest, is likely to blame for this condition. Consuming too much fat, which nuts are known to be abundant with, can cause diarrhea, according to Dr. Alan Gaby, an author of Nutritional Medicine.

You can prevent experiencing these unpleasant conditions by sticking to the suggested daily serving size. It might also be a good idea to go for sprouted nuts as they have already started their transformation into plants, making them easier to digest, according to Lily Nichols, R.D.N., a certified diabetes educator.