Heart Health With A Handful of Almonds

Are you looking for simple ways to improve your heart health? Including a handful of almonds, whether it’s as a snack or sprinkled throughout your day, may be one easy and satisfying way. Over the past few months, new research on almonds continues to show why including a handful of almonds can help you to be true to your heart. Here’s a look at what they are finding.

Almonds are a source of several types of antioxidants

Consuming antioxidant-rich foods is thought to prevent damage to cells in your body, a mechanism implicated in the development of chronic disease. Fruits and vegetables have long been known for their antioxidant content, but more recently researchers at Tufts University discovered that almonds also contain several antioxidant compounds, in amounts similar to levels found in many fruits and vegetables. One serving of almonds or about a handful, for instance, contains the same amount of antioxidants as a serving of cooked broccoli or a serving of brewed green or black tea.

Eating almonds may improve blood sugar levels

Keeping blood sugar levels in a normal range can help to reduce the risk of heart disease. Almonds are a food that causes a minimal rise in blood sugar levels, also known as low-glycemic. But did you know almonds may also help to reduce blood sugar levels following a carbohydrate based meal?

Almonds play a key role in a cholesterol lowering eating plan

A one year study published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that eating a certain combination of heart-healthy foods, including almonds, oatmeal, lean meats and fish can help reduce LDL cholesterol, or “bad” cholesterol as much as a cholesterol-lowering drug. This combination is called the Portfolio Eating Plan.

Almonds are a satisfying snack that may help with weight maintenance

Weight control is an important step on the road to a healthy heart. However, in the pursuit of weight loss, feelings of deprivation and hunger often get in the way. These feelings are seen as the opponent of many dieters and often cited as the reason for throwing in the towel on weight loss efforts. That’s why many researchers are working to identify those foods that are satisfying and can help keep hunger at bay. Research on almonds is showing that this nut may be one of those satiating foods.

Almonds are a storehouse of nutrients

One service, 160-calorie handful of almonds is an excellent source of vitamin E and magnesium, a good source of protein and fibre, and offers potassium, calcium, phosphorous, iron, and heart-healthy monounsaturated fat.

References:

Hollis JH, Mattes RD The effects of almond consumption on energy balance in adult females North American Association for the Study of Obesity: The Obesity Society Annual Scientific Meeting 2006, Boston, MA

Jenkins DJ, Kendall CW, Faulkner DA, Nguyen T, Kemp T, Marchie A, Wong JM, de Souza R, Emam A, Vidgen E, Trautwein EA, Lapsley KG, Homes C, Josse RG, Leiter LA, Connelly PW, and Singer W. Assessment of the longer-term effects of a dietary portfolio of cholesterol-lowering foods in hypercholesterolemia. Am J Clin Nutr March 2006;83(3):582-91.

Jenkins DJ, Kendall CW, Josse AR, Salvatore S, Brighenti F, Augustin LS, Ellis PR, Rao AV. Almonds decrease postprandial glycemia, insulinemia, and oxidative damage in healthy individuals. J Nutr 2006; 136(12):2987-92.

Milbury PE, Chen CY, Dolnikowski GG, Blumber JB. Determination of Flavonoids and Phenolics and Their Distribution in Almonds. J Agric Food Chem July 2006; 54(14):5027-33.