Cut Down Calories by 40 Percent by Eating Nuts in Their Shell

Snacking is perhaps something we’d like to cut down on, especially if our favorite treat is sweets. In order to cut calories by a whopping 40 percent, researchers propose a very simple method: eat nuts in their shell, or sweets in their wrappers.

It’s not that you will waste more time cracking the nuts or unwrapping the sweets that will cut your calorie intake – though that too will contribute to it, as The Mirror also points out.

Seeing what’s left after you snack (in this case, shells and wrappers) will shame you into eating less next time, or perhaps right then, the first time around.

Researchers at the School of Family and Consumer Sciences at Eastern Illinois University call this the “pistachio effect,” claiming it can reduce calorie intake by no less than 40 percent per snack, which is quite a lot, come to think of it.

They reached this conclusion after dividing students into two groups and handing them pistachio nuts before class.

One group got pistachio in the shell, while the other received just the nut. Students in the former group consumed about 86 calories each, as compared to those in the latter.

“Some of this is thought to be down to the sheer inconvenience of having to shell or unwrap the food. But the study concluded the major factor is being able to see just how much they have eaten,” The Mirror writes.

In other words, if you want to keep a close tab on your calorie intake, make sure you choose snacks that have shells or wrappers.

“In-shell nuts help slow consumption and the empty shells offer a visual cue, reducing calorie intake. The term ‘pistachio effect’ has been coined to describe a simple technique that can be used to help fool yourself full,” scientist James Painter says for the aforementioned publication.

“It is a simple way to decrease calorie consumption without restriction,” he adds. That is to say, you get to have your cake and eat it, as long as you remember to be moderate about your intake.

“This is in keeping with existing research showing that when a person has visual cues of leftovers, they can see how many or how much they have eaten, helping to control portion size and consumption,” Painter underlines.