On average, U.S. adults put on one pound of weight every year.  Researchers looked at the diet and weight of more than 280,000 adults taking part in three long-term research studies. Over more than 20 years of monitoring, participants were asked every four years about their weight and, among other things, how often, over the preceding year, they had eaten a serving (about one ounce) of nuts.

It turns out that eating a handful of almonds, walnuts, peanuts or any type of nut on a regular basis (say a dozen almonds or maybe 10 walnuts) may help prevent excessive weight gain and even lower the risk of obesity, new research suggests.  Nuts also help us feel full longer, which might offset cravings for junk food.

Researchers also found that making nuts a regular part of one’s diet is associated with a lower risk of obesity, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. The people who most consistently ate nuts gained, on average, about half a pound a year, while those who ate nuts only now and then gained, on average, about one pound each year. Those half-pounds add up over time.

If nuts become a regular part of people’s diets, their unhealthy food intake,  including processed meats, refined grains and desserts like chocolates, pastries, pies and doughnuts, also declines.  The good news is that nuts have protein in them, which helps us feel full longer, and fiber, which helps fill us up. And because nuts are high in healthy fat, they take much longer to digest than carbs and protein, and that can also make us feel full longer.   (NPR Health, 6 Oct 2019,  based on an article in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health)

Nuts are, in short, very Epicurean.  Read that however you wish!