This article has been Fact-Checked by Kendall Kennedy MS, RD, RYT
Plant-based foods are not always great when getting in shape. Find out whether macadamia nuts are good for weight loss or fattening.
Macadamias contain a lot of calories but they also include good amounts of fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals.
These nutrients do make macadamia nuts more filling than they appear at first. However, this is likely not enough to compensate for the high amount of energy.
In simpler words, macadamia nuts will often not be good for weight loss and even fattening.
That being said, you can likely still see weight loss results if you keep an eye on your portion sizes.
It could be worth implementing small amounts of macadamias or more weight-loss-friendly nuts for their valuable nutrients and/or taste.
Calories in macadamia nuts
How many total calories there are in macadamia nuts does not tell you everything you need to know when trying to lose weight but it does offer helpful information.
Raw macadamia nuts contain around 716 calories per 100 grams (1). 10 macadamia nuts have about 179 calories.
Something to note about this number is that you will likely not absorb every single calorie in your actual body.
The human body is typically not able to absorb all the calories in nuts. At least not as well as many other foods (2, 3). Some of these calories go through your body undigested.
Exactly to what extent this will be the case will likely vary from situation to situation. Some studies find that 5%-20% of the fat from nuts may go through indigested (4, 5, 6, 7).
That being said, the 716 calories in 100 grams of macadamias is still a very high amount. This is typically not good for weight loss results.
Something to note is that 56.3 of the calories above come from carbohydrates (14.2 g per 100 grams of which 8.6 g fiber).
This does make macadamia nuts reasonably keto-friendly and suited for other low-carb weight loss diets.
In short, macadamia nuts are very high in calories which is typically not helpful for losing weight. You do still want to know from what sources all of this energy comes.
Micronutrients in macadamia nuts
The first thing to look at is the amount of micronutrients in macadamia nuts.
Micronutrients are a group of nutrients your body absolutely needs to survive and thrive. Micronutrients include vitamins and minerals. These are involved in basically every aspect of your health, including weight loss.
100 grams of macadamia nuts provides you with approximately (1):
- Thiamin: 47% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Magnesium: 30% of the DV
- Copper: 29% of the DV
- Phosphorus: 20% of the DV
- Iron: 15% of the DV
And a few others in smaller amounts. These are very good vitamin and mineral contents per 100 grams. If you combine macadamia nuts with a healthy diet your micronutrient levels will most likely be great.
Macadamia nuts also contain anti-oxidants. These are substances that help your body deal with oxidative stress, damage that occurs from day to day.
Fiber in macadamia nuts for weight loss
Another very important factor for weight loss is the amount of fiber in your food.
Macadamia nuts contain around 8 grams of fiber per 100 grams (1).
This is a big amount compared to most other foods. And for most people this is a good thing.
Fiber has multiple benefits for weight loss. First of all, it feeds your microbiome, the microbes that live in your intestines. The health of your microbiome influences your body’s health and weight. Feeding it well is usually not a bad idea.
Fiber also helps you feel less hungry without adding a lot of calories to your diet. Hunger and cravings can be a big pitfall for people trying to lose weight, so avoiding this is a big plus.
With the amount of fiber in macadamia nuts you can reduce the time you spend craving for food a lot.
Protein in macadamia nuts for weight loss
Another thing in food that can help you on your weight loss journey is the amount of protein in it.
Macadamia nuts contain about 7.8 grams of protein per 100 grams (1). To compare, there are 25.4 grams per 100 grams in salmon (8).
Protein is considered to be the most filling of the 3 macronutrients. Eating enough protein will also help you prevent muscle loss.
Muscle helps you burn extra calories throughout the day which is very good for weight loss. Protein calories also take your body more calories to process than calories from carbs and fats.
The amount of protein in macadamia nuts is decent for a plant-based source of protein.
Many nuts are higher in protein. You will most likely also need protein from other foods but macadamia nuts can get you started with your daily goals.
Do keep in mind that overdoing it with protein isn’t good either.
Are macadamia nuts good for losing weight or fattening?
Macadamia nuts are very high in calories but do contain good amounts of fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals.
It is true that macadamia nuts will have a relatively filling effect.
In theory, this could help you consume less of foods that are worse for weight loss while providing you with important nutrients.
That being said, these effects will typically not be able to compensate for the big amount of energy.
In turn, macadamia nuts will generally be fattening.
At the same time, it is worth noting that you can still eat reasonable amounts of macadamias and lose weight by approaching the other things that influence fat loss in the right way.
It can still be worth eating small amounts of macadamia nuts for their valuable nutrients.
Who should not eat macadamia nuts
While macadamia nuts can be a great addition for the daily diet of most people, some people are allergic to them.
How many macadamia nuts should you eat a day to lose weight?
Nutrition is always a bit of a puzzle in terms of what the perfect diet looks like. It’s a pretty individual thing.
A typical serving of 1 ounce macadamia nuts is about 12 macadamia nuts.
Some people use this 1 oz serving size as a daily recommendation but in reality, it isn’t as simple as that. There is for example no way that a 200-pound man and 140-pound woman should eat the same amount of macadamia nuts a day to lose weight.
You need to determine for yourself how many macadamia nuts fit in your daily calories. The amount will be different from individual to individual from day to day, it can be 0 too.
Macadamia nuts vs other popular nuts for weight loss
You now know how good macadamia nuts are for weight loss but how do they compare to certain other popular nuts? Find out how good macadamia nuts are for weight loss vs hazelnuts, brazil nuts, almonds, and walnuts.
Macadamia nuts vs hazelnuts
First of all there is the macadamia nuts vs hazelnuts comparison. Hazelnuts contain a smaller amount of calories than macadamia nuts, 628 calories per 100 grams (9).
Hazelnuts have more fiber per 100 grams than macadamia nuts, 9.7 grams. Hazelnuts are higher in protein per 100 grams, 15 grams vs the 7.9 grams in macadamia nuts. Both of these nuts are very high in vitamins and minerals, hazelnuts slightly higher.
Hazelnuts are likely better than macadamia nuts for weight loss.
Macadamia nuts vs brazil nuts
The next comparison is between macadamia nuts and brazil nuts. Brazil nuts are lower in calories, 656 calories per 100 grams (10).
Brazil nuts have about 7.5 grams of fiber per 100 grams vs the 8.6 grams of macadamia nuts. Brazil nuts contain about 14.3 grams of protein per 100 grams, which is a lot higher than the amount of protein in macadamia nuts. In terms of the amount of vitamins and minerals, brazil nuts have more.
In some situations even too much. Brazil nuts have extremely high levels of a mineral called selenium. This makes it so you want to limit brazil nut intake to 2-3 a day anyway.
The difference in calories combined with the higher amount of protein will make brazil nuts likely better for weight loss than macadamia nuts.
Macadamia nuts vs almonds
The next comparison is with almonds. Almonds are lower in calories than macadamia nuts, 575 calories per 100 grams vs the 718 calories per 100 grams of macadamia nuts (11).
Almonds contain around 12.2 grams of fiber per 100 grams. A good amount higher than the 8.6 grams of fiber per 100 grams in macadamia nuts. Almonds contain about 21.2 grams of protein per 100 grams. Almonds have slightly bigger amounts of vitamins and minerals than macadamia nuts.
Almonds are very likely better for weight loss than macadamia nuts.
Macadamia nuts vs walnuts
Lastly macadamia nuts vs walnuts. Walnuts are lower in calories than macadamia nuts, 654 calories per 100 grams vs the 718 calories per 100 grams of macadamia nuts (12).
Walnuts contain around 6.7 grams of fiber per 100 grams. A good amount lower than the 8.6 grams of fiber per 100 grams in macadamia nuts. Walnuts contain about 15.2 grams of protein per 100 grams, macadamia nuts 7.9 grams. Macadamia nuts and walnuts are similar when it comes to their amounts of vitamins and minerals.
A benefit walnuts have is that they are higher in omega 3 fats than macadamia nuts. It’s not yet clear exactly how much of a difference that makes when it comes to weight loss.
The difference will be small but walnuts are likely slightly better than macadamia nuts for weight loss.
Chart of macadamia nuts vs other popular nuts
There are some interesting differences in nutritional content between these nut alternatives that will most likely matter when it comes to weight loss. As you can see, macadamia nuts are really low on the list of best nuts for weight loss.
The amount of vitamins and minerals in food does matter for weight loss and health but you can’t simplify that in one number. You can check out the numbers for macadamia nuts (1), hazelnuts (9), brazil nuts (10), almonds (11), and walnuts (12) to compare.
| Values Per 100g | Macadamia Nuts | Hazelnuts | Brazil Nuts | Almonds | Walnuts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 718 calories | 628 calories | 656 calories | 575 calories | 654 calories |
| Fiber | 8.6 g | 9.7 g | 7.5 g | 12.2 g | 6.7 g |
| Protein | 7.9 g | 15.0 g | 14.3 g | 21.2 g | 15.2 g |
