High-satiety nuts – the best and the worst

Roasted, salted cashew nuts are delicious.

They're also bad for weight loss, like most nuts.

Why? They are highly energy-dense, low in protein, and—if salted—very hedonic, almost addictive.

Overview

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What kind of nut is the best choice for weight loss? Modest amounts of peanuts (ideally unsalted, 34) or almonds (31) may be fine.

Salted cashews score a super-low 4, and macadamia nuts are not far behind at 18.

Nut alternatives

The very best choice, though, can be to snack on something else entirely. Personally, I often have a protein bar. This can have a satiety around 50, though it varies a lot from brand to brand (guide coming later).

Even higher in our Hava satiety scoring: beef jerky (regular brands with added sugar score about 59, low-sugar brands about 67), dry roasted edamame (68), or cottage cheese with berries (68).

Nut butters

Generally speaking, nut butters – e.g., peanut butter – score slightly lower than the nuts they come from. They generally contain less fiber, are more energy-dense, and often have added salt. Salted high-fat foods like this are hedonic, driving overeating.

People who want something similar often try peanut butter powders, which are very high in protein. They can be mixed with water for something similar to peanut butter. Many popular brands exist, including PB2 and PBfit (see Google search). Satiety scores vary somewhat between brands but can reach about 70 when prepared with water.

Note: We may mention and test brands at Hava when that is potentially helpful to you, but we never make any money from this. We never take money from the food industry, show no ads, and sell no physical products.

Your favorites

Do you have any favorite high-satiety snack to recommend? Consider sharing it with me and others in the comments on X.

More

Check the satiety of any food – and learn how it's calculated: Satiety calculator

Try our Hava satiety app for even more support, get your free trial here.