Almonds are nutrient-dense tree nuts that are packed with health benefits. This popular delicious snack can help to reduce the risk of heart disease, lower blood sugar levels, support weight loss, and even boost brainpower.
With a definite superfood status, almonds are well worth adding to your diet. They’re rich in protein and fatty acids, while being relatively low in carbohydrates and calories, making them a fantastic weight-loss food. Read on to discover the best health benefits of almonds, almond milk and almond butter – and learn why you should stock up on them from this moment onwards…
1. Reduces Inflammation
The main fat found in almonds comes from oleic acid, which can also be found in olive oil – this, as we all know, is one of the best anti-inflammatory foods. For that reason, it makes sense that almonds are also a fantastic food for naturally reducing inflammation, and can thus help to reduce obesity, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and other concerning health conditions. Almonds can also reduce oxidative stress, preventing further inflammatory damage in the body.
2. Protects Against Cognitive Decline
According to a number of promising studies, supplementing with vitamin E which is found in abundance in almonds can prevent and slow cognitive decline. In one clinical trial, vitamin E was successfully used to treat people who had moderate to severe cognitive impairment, and even showed promise in slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. If that wasn’t enough, a single serving of almonds contains around one-fifth of our recommended riboflavin, which is needed to protect the brain from diseases like Parkinson’s.
3. May Reduce The Risk Of Cancer
Research has linked higher levels of vitamin E with a reduced risk of developing colon cancer, too, especially in adults under the age of 65. This vitamin may also reduce prostate cancer rates and reduce oxidative stress in general. It’s important to note that most of the cancer-fighting properties of almonds are contained in their dark brown outer shell, so it’s better to eat unprocessed almonds instead of blanched or raw almonds that have had their outer shells removed.
4. Improves Cholesterol Levels
If you have high cholesterol, you probably know the importance of reducing your fat intake. But did you know there are actually healthy fats that can be beneficial to people with elevated cholesterol levels? Almonds are a great source of healthy fat, and eating a handful of almonds per day has been found to reduce high-density lipoproteins -good cholesterol- while lowering low-density lipoproteins -bad cholesterol. Good cholesterol actually decreases your risk of heart disease, while bad cholesterol puts you more at risk.
5. Reduces Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is one of the leading causes of strokes and heart attacks. If you have elevated blood pressure, almonds might be the unexpected remedy, with one medically-reviewed study of men between 20 and 70 finding that these tree nuts can improve arterial blood flow and lower blood pressure significantly within a matter of weeks. It’s thought that this could be because almonds are rich in magnesium. Being deficient in magnesium has been linked to elevated systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
6 May Prevent Heart Disease
Again, it’s the vitamin E in almonds that makes them so beneficial for heart health. According to medically-reviewed studies, people consuming almonds – or vitamin E in general – are up to 40% less likely to have heart disease. Almonds may be one of the best foods to fight heart disease as they contain a particularly high amount of vitamin E per gram. Simply eating almonds every day has been found in studies to help lower oxidative damage in cells, thus reducing heart disease.
7. Helps Balance Blood Sugar
Many people don’t know that magnesium is important for controlling blood sugar, and that many people with type 2 diabetes have magnesium deficiencies. It’s thought that including more magnesium in your diet can improve sensitivity to insulin – and as we know, almonds are high in this particular mineral.
Even if you don’t have diabetes, you may still see a decreased likelihood of insulin resistance when you eat more magnesium, whether from almonds, almond butter or another almond product, on a daily basis. If you’re battling with blood sugar problems, these health benefits of almonds are particularly important to note.
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