Nuts, seeds and weight loss: what 14 plant based experts say
Nuts and seeds are whole foods with fiber, protein and healthy fats, but they carry about 2,400 to 3,200 calories per pound. This is the sharpest split in the guide.
Greger recommends a daily serving; several others allow small amounts; McDougall, Lisle, Novick, Chef AJ and Rogers cut them for weight loss.
The statement we compare againstNuts and seeds should be cut out or strictly limited for weight loss.
- Agree 7
- Partly 4
- Disagree 1
- No statement 2
At a glance
| Expert | Position | Evidence behind it |
|---|---|---|
| Walter Kempner | Agrees | Case series, selected for success |
| Nathan Pritikin | Agrees | Case series (uncontrolled residential programs) |
| John McDougall | Agrees | Case series (short, residential) |
| Dean Ornish | Partly agrees | RCT for heart outcomes; modest results in independent weight trials |
| T. Colin Campbell | No clear statement found | – |
| Neal Barnard | Partly agrees | Randomized controlled trials |
| Hana Kahleova | No clear statement found | – |
| Alan Goldhamer | Partly agrees | Case series (single-arm clinic studies) |
| Doug Lisle | Agrees | No studies of his own; clinical experience |
| Jeff Novick | Agrees | No studies of his own; summarizes feeding studies |
| Chef AJ | Agrees | Personal story and program reports; no trials |
| Michael Greger | Disagrees | Reviews of other people's trials |
| Rip Esselstyn | Partly agrees | Uncontrolled pilot and event data |
| Peter Rogers | Agrees | No studies of his own; population and mechanism arguments |
What each expert says
-
Walter Kempner
MD
AgreesThe weight-loss diet contained almost no fat, so no nuts or seeds.
Evidence: Case series, selected for success
-
Nathan Pritikin
Engineer, no medical degree
AgreesTo lose weight, the center says to limit nuts and seeds along with breads and dried fruit; at a healthy weight it allows about an ounce a day. A center dietitian has said they can be worked in for people who don't overeat them.
Evidence: Case series (uncontrolled residential programs)
- Pritikin center: the eating planOrganization page
- Pritikin center video (2023) at 17:07Organization page
-
John McDougall
MD
AgreesOut for weight loss: he wrote that “an ounce of nuts a day should cause some weight gain,” and suggested nuts to people who want to gain. Trim, healthy people could eat some. Unsigned 2023 pages on his site call nuts a healthy snack; that is the organization talking, not him.
Evidence: Case series (short, residential)
-
Dean Ornish
MD
Partly agreesOrnish's program allows nuts only in tiny measured servings, such as five almonds, within a small daily allowance.
Evidence: RCT for heart outcomes; modest results in independent weight trials
- Ornish program nutrition guidelines (archived)Organization page
-
T. Colin Campbell
PhD
No clear statement foundNo clear statement found in our sources on this topic. We list nothing rather than guess.
-
Neal Barnard
MD
Partly agreesNuts are allowed, but Barnard warns they are easy to overeat because they are so high in fat, and gives portion tips.
Evidence: Randomized controlled trials
-
Hana Kahleova
MD, PhD
No clear statement foundNo clear statement found in our sources on this topic. We list nothing rather than guess.
-
Alan Goldhamer
DC (chiropractor, not a medical doctor)
Partly agreesAllowed in small daily amounts: up to two ounces of raw nuts a day, or half an avocado. His group's 2026 review rates whole nuts and seeds as at least as good as oils for the heart, without oil's possible drag on weight loss.
Evidence: Case series (single-arm clinic studies)
-
Doug Lisle
PhD
AgreesLisle says nobody needs nuts and finds the short nut trials unconvincing. For people stuck above their goal he suggests dropping nuts, bread and pasta, then adding some back once at goal.
Evidence: No studies of his own; clinical experience
-
Jeff Novick
MS, RDN (registered dietitian)
AgreesNuts and seeds fall in his extremely-limit band, at 2,400 to 3,200 calories per pound. He also accepts the nut trials and explains them, adding that a diet already low in density leaves little room for the swap that makes those calories disappear.
Evidence: No studies of his own; summarizes feeding studies
-
Chef AJ
Chef and TV host, no medical credential
AgreesHer 2017 program allowed up to an ounce a day; she stopped eating nuts, seeds and avocado herself around 2012 and says dropping nuts is what made her lose weight. She still calls them healthy foods that are simply calorie-dense.
Evidence: Personal story and program reports; no trials
-
Michael Greger
MD
DisagreesGreger recommends a quarter cup of nuts plus a tablespoon of ground flaxseed every day. He points to about 20 trials where adding nuts did not cause the weight gain their calories would predict.
Evidence: Reviews of other people's trials
-
Rip Esselstyn
Former firefighter and triathlete, no medical credential
Partly agreesRip includes some nuts and seeds in his food plan. PLANTSTRONG's site is inconsistent: a 2022 page says to limit nuts and cut avocado to lose weight, while 2024 pages list several nuts and nut butters as everyday foods.
Evidence: Uncontrolled pilot and event data
- Engine 2 keynote (2009) at 19:32
- PLANTSTRONG: 9 ways to optimize (2022) (archived copy)Organization page
- PLANTSTRONG: WFPB essentials (2024)Organization page
-
Peter Rogers
MD
AgreesNone at all while losing weight: no nuts, seeds, avocado or coconut, which he calls far too fatty.
Evidence: No studies of his own; population and mechanism arguments
What the evidence says
- Trials that added nuts to people's usual diets mostly did not find the weight gain their calories would predict. Critics note these trials are short and often swap nuts for other foods.
- Novick, who limits nuts, explains the missing calories: people eat less of other foods, burn slightly more, and absorb less fat from whole nuts.
- No trial has tested nuts inside a very-low-fat whole-food plant based weight-loss diet, where there is less room to swap them for other foods.
Our reading: Both camps can be right at once: nuts may not add weight on an ordinary diet, yet still slow loss when the rest of the plate is already very low in calories per pound. Nobody has tested that directly.
Questions
Do nuts cause weight gain?
In trials that added nuts to ordinary diets, people mostly did not gain the weight the calories predict, because they ate less of other foods. Those trials were short.
How many nuts can you eat on a plant based weight-loss diet?
It depends on the expert: Greger suggests a quarter cup plus a tablespoon of flaxseed daily, Goldhamer one to two ounces, the Pritikin center about an ounce once weight is fine, and McDougall, Lisle and Rogers none while losing.
Are nuts unhealthy?
None of the experts here call nuts unhealthy. The disagreement is about weight loss, because nuts are calorie-dense.