Best Nuts for Keto Diet (Comprehesive 2020 Guide)

Are you wondering what nuts would best complement your keto diet? You’re in the right place!

In this guide, you’ll learn about:

  • What are the best nuts for the keto diet?
  • What are the benefits of keto-friendly nuts?
  • And a whole lot more!
keto nuts

Who doesn’t love snacks?

Nuts are tasty and a fantastic health boosting snack. Finding suitable snacks to protect your ketosis however can be difficult when following a ketogenic approach. Options are limited and most store available options will be loaded with carbohydrate, particularly added sugars.

A natural alternative option that fits perfectly with all things keto are nuts; nature’s natural energy boosters.

Prior reviews and epidemiological and/or clinical trials have suggested that regular nut consumption has beneficial impact on health and can improve conditions such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, with reduction in mediators of chronic diseases such as oxidative stress, inflammation, visceral adiposity, hyperglycaemia, insulin resistance, endothelial dysfunction, and metabolic syndrome.

If you want to live your best keto life, having some nuts on the daily may be just the ticket for it!

Best Nuts for the Keto Diet

Nuts are a fantastic health boosting snack for any diet, but as people focused on ketosis, we do have to be mindful of the carbohydrate content.

We’ve outlined our favourite go to options, what makes them so great, any research on them and a quick run down what you can expect, from a nutritional perspective, for a snack sized (35g) serving!

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Pecans

Pecans are a great source of mono- and polyunsaturated fats and fiber. These kinds of fats can have a protective effect on cardiovascular health when replacing saturated and trans fats in a person’s diet.

Fibre also has a vast array of health benefits, from improving your gut microbiome profile to even aiding with weight management!

Pecans are also packed full of phytochemicals (extremely potent anti-oxidants), fat-soluble bioactive components and essential minerals (magnesium, manganese, zinc).

A recent study by McKay et al., 2018 found that increasing pecan intake actually led to a reduction in health markers associated with cardiovascular risk (of which including insulin resistance and circulating insulin levels)!

Per 35g serving:

  • 230 Kcals
  • 24 (g) Fats
  • 3.2 (g) Fibre
  • 1.4 (g) Net carbs

Read Also: What is the Best-7-Keto-DHEA Metabolite?

Brazil nuts

Brazil nuts are well recognized for their antioxidant potential. Antioxidants can help reduce the impact of free radicals potentially harmful by-products produced by chemical reactions (which we ironically need to sustain life).

They’re rich in the mineral selenium which improves the activity of our most potent anti-inflammatory (which we produce ourselves); glutathione peroxidase. Increasing Brazil nut intake has been directly linked to this benefit! This anti-inflammatory capability makes them a must have for the endurance athletes like runners.

Brazil nuts are also recognized for their high magnesium content.

Magnesium is important for many processes in the body, acting as an “activator” for more than 300 enzymes, including those with roles involved in regulating muscle and nerve function, blood sugar levels, and blood pressure and making protein, bone, and DNA.

Per 35g serving:

  • 219 Kcals
  • 22.1 (g) Fats
  • 2.5 (g) Fibre
  • 1.6 (g) Net carbs

Macadamia nuts

Studies directly evaluating macadamia intake and health outcomes are fairly limited, however these tasty morsels are packed full of incredibly beneficial nutrients and minerals.

For one, iron. Macadamias are one of the most iron rich nuts available! Iron has a whole host of benefits (relating to energy production and more) and many people struggle to achieve the recommended intakes!

Macadamias are also rich in magnesium, B vitamins and even fibre!

Per 35g serving:

  • 247 Kcals
  • 25.3 (g) Fats
  • 2.9 (g) Fibre
  • 1.7 (g) Net carbs

Walnuts

The research on walnut intake shows benefit both short and long term!

Studies with walnut consumption between 21 and 75 g/day have shown a reduction in cardiovascular risk with an improvement in the lipid profile and endothelial function (an important component of the circulatory system).

Walnuts are rich in beneficial nutrients, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and dietary fiber; all beneficial towards heart health, mental health and even metabolism!

Per 35g serving:

  • 218 Kcals
  • 22 (g) Fats
  • 2.23 (g) Fibre
  • 2.34 (g) Net carbs

Read Also: What are the Best Keto Fiber Supplements for Optimal Health?

keto nut facts

Hazelnuts

Hazelnuts are abundant in monounsaturated fats; perfect swaps for “unhealthy” fats that, when made, can improve heart health and cholesterol profiles!

They’re also packed full of potent phytochemicals, vitamin E, Manganese, Zinc and even fiber!

While the research is relatively limited on direct investigations related to hazelnut intake and health outcomes, it has been shown that they can increase dietary adherence (which in turn may improve long term weight management and other markers of health)!

Per 35g serving:

  • 209 Kcals
  • 20.25 (g) Fats
  • 3.2 (g) Fibre
  • 2.4 (g) Net carbs

Read Also: Intermittent Fasting for Beginners

Pine nuts

Pine nuts are one of the richest nut related sources of polyunsaturated fats.

These kinds of fats are well known for their benefit towards heart health, but may also be a key component of maintaining / improving mental health, cognitive function and even gastrointestinal function!

The research is fairly limited on pine nuts however they’re packed full of important minerals (namely iron, copper, zinc and magnesium) and having them with a low carb salad is a great option!

Per 35g serving:

  • 224 Kcals
  • 23 (g) Fats
  • 1.23 (g) Fiber
  • 3.12 (g) Net Carbs

Almonds

Almonds are amazing; no joke, the research backs us on this one!

In both small (10g/day) and large (100g/day) almonds can be of benefit to your health, improving everything from glycaemic control to weight management!

Fun fact; your body does not absorb 10–15% of the calories from almonds because some of the fat is inaccessible to digestive enzymes. This is another possible reason as to why almond intake is associated with beneficial weight management outcomes!

Almonds are also packed with fiber, rich in vitamin E, magnesium, calcium, zinc and even has a few B vitamins thrown in for good measure!

Per 35g serving:

  • 193 Kcals
  • 16.6 (g) Fats
  • 4.2 (g) Fibre
  • 3 (g) Net carbs

Peanuts

Studies have shown that the inclusion of peanuts in the diet not only improves the quality of the diet, but also stimulates satiety, increases fat breakdown and thermogenesis, and reduces glycaemic response.

Large daily dosages of peanuts (70g/ day) have also been found to not result in weight gain!

Certain peanuts are higher in oleic fat, a form of monounsaturated fatty acid, which can increase diet-induced thermogenesis in overweight and obese men in addition to reducing hunger through caloric compensation and increasing satiety.

The nutritional content of peanuts will vary depending on where you source them, but they typically have a great polyunsaturated and monounsaturated content / ratio, as well as being packed full of other important minerals and vitamins!

They’re also a relatively good source of protein and have some fiber to offer too!

Per 35g serving:

  • 190 Kcals
  • 16 (g) Fats
  • 3 (g) Fibre
  • 4 (g) Net carbs

Read Also: What is the Quickest Way to Lose Stubborn Fat?

Pistachios

Aside from the fact they’re also insanely delicious, pistachios are also packed full of health promoting nutrients and minerals, including healthy fats, B vitamins, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc!

Research has found that pistachio consumption can lead to improvement of carbohydrate metabolism, circulating fatty acid and cholesterol level and cardiovascular function.

Research really advocates dietary pistachio inclusion for improving your lipid profile!

Per 35g serving:

  • 187 Kcals
  • 15.13 (g) Fats
  • 3.4 (g) Fibre
  • 5.8 (g) Net carbs

Cashews

Our favourite childhood snack, these perfectly designed keto power punches are insanely tasty and packed full of health.

Research is limited, but has shown a marked improvement in both lowered blood triglycerides and improved cholesterol levels.

Cashews are loaded with minerals and even throw in a decent amount of protein and monounsaturated fats to boot! Definitely a big favorite here!

Per 35g serving:

  • Kcals; 184 Kcals
  • Fats (g); 14.6 (g) Fats
  • Fibre (g); 1.1 (g) Fibre
  • Net carbs (g); 9 (g) Net carbs

Benefits of Keto Friendly Nuts

We’ve dived into a bunch of our favourite keto friendly nut options but we just want to highlight the beneficial trends seen among these options:

Packed full of heart healthy fats

Nuts are loaded with mono – and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Some more so than others and in different ratios but virtually all will have some benefit (if replacing saturated and trans fats) to your health!

Making this swap may also help with body composition goals! Who doesn’t want to look better on the outside as well as healthier on the inside!?

Loaded with beneficial minerals and nutrients

These little health promoters are also loaded with minerals, namely zinc, selenium, magnesium and iron.

These play important roles in enzyme activation and aid in increasing activity / improving functionality of those enzymes involved in metabolism, immunity, energy production etc.

Yes, Nuts are Keto friendly!

Typically, nuts are going to be totally fine for upholding your ketosis. Of course, this’ll be determined by dosage but generally they’re a great option!

The fiber content goes a long way to help this. These little beauties are mostly rich in fiber and this helps to bring down the net carb intake, while also attenuating the appearance of sugar in the blood and better regulating the insulin response a.k.a. protecting your ketogenic state!

Conclusion

Nuts are amazing and we love them! Insanely tasty and packed to the brim with all sorts of beneficial dietary components that’ll only see your health go from strength to strength!

We’ve laid out a range of options and what to expect per 35g portion. Now, unless you’ve got an allergy, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be getting on these absolute health gems!

Let us know your favorites and how you like to use them! Be it as a snack or in your cooking, thrown in with other things, whatever! We want to know! We’re nutty about nuts!