Can they be consumed if you need to lose weight or is it better to avoid them? Here's what you need to know and a series of tips and tricks for eating them without problems
The chestnuts they are the ultimate symbol of autumn. They are a tasty fruit, which those who need to lose weight often give up. Yet like any other food, chestnuts are a fruit that can be eaten even if you are on a diet. "Just combine them with the right foods, pay attention to the quantities and follow some small precautions, able to make this food advantageous for the figure and health", says the nutritionist Valentina Galiazzo, specializing in clinical biochemistry. «Chestnuts are a good source of B-complex vitamins. They contain vitamins B6 and B12, involved in the processes of metabolism. They also offer vitamin C and minerals including potassium and magnesium, friends of the circulation. In addition, they have a reduced fat content. So they contain a series of useful micronutrients, "says the expert, who explains here how many and how to eat chestnuts so as not to risk gaining weight.
The recommended amount of chestnuts
Chestnuts are an energetic fruit. «They contain about 100 calories per 100 grams when eaten raw. Their caloric intake increases if they are boiled and can be almost double if they are eaten roasted. The suggestion is therefore to eat them in any case in moderation, limiting yourself to 6-7 chestnuts a day and avoid combining them in the same meal with other foods rich in starch such as pasta, bread, potatoes and easily absorbable sugars including fruit. fresh. The risk is to increase the glycemic load of the meal and stimulate greater production of insulin, a hormone that promotes overweight ", explains the expert.
How to eat the chestnuts
Chestnuts can be eaten at any time of the day. «They are perfect for breakfast to have energy or instead of dessert or fruit at the end of a meal or in soups together with legumes to bring an excellent single dish to the table. Chestnuts are also ideal at snack time to satisfy the desire for something good and tasty with a natural, low-fat snack, "says nutritionist Valentina Galiazzo. "The important thing is to always be able to balance their impact on blood sugar". How? "By combining this highly starchy fruit with protein sources such as yogurt or milk in the morning and as a snack and with meat and derivatives, fish or legumes for lunch and dinner and always accompanying them with a small amount of beneficial fats such as those of dried fruit (walnuts, almonds etc.) or extra virgin olive oil, which increase its satiating power and reduce its impact on insulin and consequently on the figure and health .
