Our most recent online survey asked about your nut eating habits and knowledge. Here are the results, which indicate you are a very nutty bunch.

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Nuts are nature's vitamin pills. They are rich in protein, iron, selenium, fibre and healthy fatty acids. It also appears that the dietary fat in nuts may be less likely to turn into body fat when consumed as part of a healthy diet. This makes a daily dose of nuts a fantastic nutrient-rich food habit for you and your clients.

What subscribers say they are eating

The most common pattern of stand-alone nut consumption was daily (31%), followed by `most days' (24%) and `a few times a week' (24%). Less than 10% said they eat nuts a few times a month or less often. A lot less people ate nuts as an ingredient in meals and in other foods.

Nuts are healthy and they taste good

Most said they eat nuts because they are healthy (82%) and they taste good (both 70%).

Many people shared their passion fot nuts...

"I think nuts are a highly nutrious & easy snack, very versitile and yummy! If you don't eat nuts you're missing out!!

"I recently completed a trek with World Expedition to Mt Toubkal (Morocco) October 08. The best comment from the group was the enjoyment of our mid morning snack.... handsful of nuts, dates, figs... they were awesome and just what we needed for our trekking energy of up to 8 hours day!! :-).......... I just want to do another trek to enjoy the great food - exercise and 'feel good factor'!! It has inspired me to eat more variety of nuts and dried fruits."

"I love my nuts but they play havoc when I run the next day - ha ha!!! - they get the last laugh"

Nuts help me manage my weight

Just over one third (35%) of the survey also said they eat nuts to `help manage my weight'.

"They're great to curb the late night snacking cravings!"

"I do find nuts both great to eat for flavour and also help me to control my weight as they are quite filling."

"I enjoy eating a small box of nuts (which contains almonds cashews and walnuts) mid to late afternoon this keeps me satisfied until dinner time."

"I find they kill off the hunger cravings alot better than the same amount of sugary food would - as long as you make you own portion sizes. Don't leave an opened container in front of us, they ALL disappear!"

This last experience is a great tip for anyone watching their weight. Exercise portion control over your nut servings. Buying small boxes and portioning out small amounts into zip-lock bags are good ideas.

I want to eat more

Over two thirds (71%) said they were actively seeking to eat more nuts. Only 18% said they `would eat them if offered' and around 10% said they `don't really think about nuts in my diet'.

I want my clients to eat more nuts

We also asked what recommendations you make to clients about nuts and confirmed the popularity of nuts. Over two thirds (70%) said they `frequently recommend nuts as part of a healthy daily diet'. Only a quarter recommend nuts sometimes and 3% rarely and never recommend nuts.

"Having applied what you said about nuts (in our course) to ourselves we found that it worked really well, especially to provide that extra bit of energy when we are flagging, so now we are really trying to motivate our clients to make them part of their diet."

I know my nut nutrition

Just to see how knowledgeable you are about nut nutrition, we asked you to rate different nuts for specific nutrient content. And wow! You scored five out of six questions correctly.

Here are the nuts that have the greatest quantity of:

• Fat - Macadamias have 74g per 100g. Most other nuts have 50-66% fat.
• Omega-3 fats - Walnuts have 6g per 100. Other nuts have less than 10% of this amount.
• Protein - Almonds are 20g per 100g protein and have slightly more than pistachios. Macadamias and peacans have less than 10% fat.
• Fibre - Almonds, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, peacans and pistachios all have around 8-10% fibre, which is a generous dose.
• Vitamin E - Almonds have 26mg per 100g, followed by hazelnuts with 15mg per 100g and pinenuts with 9mg per 100g. Most other nuts have a lot less.

Nuts are a natural, nutrient-rich source of many nutritional goodies. If you are not eating them every day and you don't have an adverse reaction to them, consider adding more to your diet and recommending them to your friends, family and clients.

Here are some great ideas for eating more nuts from our survey:

• Ground up and sprinkled on shepherd's pie
• Have a handful before bed to enhance morning regularity
• I make my own nut and seed mix for snacks so it tastes just right
• Trail mix with fruit adds a little sweetness
• Add walnuts to salads for some extra crunch
• Mix almond slivers into my muesli cereal
• Crushed walnuts, ricotta cheese and apple slices are yummy
• Walnuts on breakfast cereal
• Ground up and added to smoothies
• Add almond meal to protein shakes
• Make your favourite brew of nuts and seeds
• Walnuts and Philly cheese with apple

For more information about the health benefits of eating nuts visit Nuts for Life, a proud supporter of my SmartShape Nutrition for Fat Loss Course.

Congratulations to Robyn Pinches who has won SmartShape's $250 Voucher in the survey prize draw.

Who responded to the survey?

155 people of which 84% were female

A big thank you to all who completed the survey!

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