Georgia Pecans and Weight Loss

Q: I'm trying to watch what I eat so I can lose some weight. Can I include Georgia pecans on my weight-loss diet?

A: Absolutely! In fact, you should include pecans as a part of weight-loss diet. They add flavor and crunch to salads, side dishes and low-cal treats and they happen to be powerhouses of good nutrition.

When you're cutting back, you want to be sure that you get the most nutrition bang for your buck with the foods you eat. And you can't go wrong with pecans. They're rich in vitamin E, fiber, magnesium and they provide more antioxidant power from natural plant compounds than any other nut.

Moreover, research has shown that including pecans as part of a weight-loss plan does not slow weight loss. In fact, one study from the Harvard School of Public Health found that when nuts, including pecans, were part of the diet, people were able to lose weight and keep the weight off for a longer period of time than people who followed the more typically recommended low-fat diet.