Almonds - Our Gut and Heart Friends

The humble nuts have it all - packed with energy, good fats, protein, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and much talked about omega-3 fatty acids, buttery yet crunchy, amazingly delicious, nuts seem to be mother nature’s gift to humankind!

Photo by Marcia Cripps on Unsplash

Needless to look further if we are after high fiber nuts! Almonds are the winners with their 4 grams of fiber per ounce. This is about 12 % of our daily fiber need. Most of almond’s fiber (about 80 %) is insoluble fiber, which is known to absorb water when passing through our intestines.

As a result, a bulk is added to the stool and its transit time is speeded up, preventing unpleasant issues like constipation, diverticulosis and even reducing the risk of colon cancer. The effect of the latter is amplified by the calcium in almonds - about 70 mg (per ounce of nuts), or as much as in half a cup of low fat (1 %) milk.

Almonds are known to reduce the risk of heart attack. For example, a Loma Linda School of Public Health (USA) had found in a study that people who ate almonds five times per week had reduced their risk of heart attack by 50 %! This might be very much related to the almonds’ ability to reduce the cells’ oxidative stress.

Oxidation is believed to be detrimental to our cells, thus being a key factor not only in heart disease but cataracts, macular degeneration and even ageing. And no wonder - almonds are so rich in Vitamin E (a powerful antioxidant)! - about 10 mg per ounce of almonds, which is about 70 % of our RDI (Recommended Daily Intake). In addition, almonds were found to reduce the total and LDL cholesterol, as well as to prevent the oxidation of the LDL cholesterol.

Another way almonds can keep our heart healthy is via their protein content, which is almost as much as in chicken meat (eg. ~20 %, or 6 g per ounce). More specifically, almonds contain the amino acid arginine, which the body converts to nitric oxide, known to relax the blood vessels and to make them more elastic, thus preventing blood clotting and assisting against heart disease [31]. Another essential amino acid in almonds is phenylalanine, which is known to boost the neurotransmitters dopamine (responsible for good memory and problem-solving skills) and adrenaline (looking after our focus, attention, and energy).

Additionally, almonds are rich in healthy fats (almost 50 %). Only 8 % of their fats are saturated, with the rest being 64 % monounsaturated and 28 % polyunsaturated fats (1 g, 9 g and 3.5 g respectively). And of course, being a plant food, almonds do not contain cholesterol.

In a nutshell, almonds are a phytochemical powerhouse, fairly earning the admirations of scientist and consumers alike. Analyzing the phytochemical content of almonds, Dr. Gary Beecher (USDA-ARS) remarks during symposium on nuts nutrition (“Nuts and Healthful Diet”, 1998): “I have never seen this diversity of phytochemicals in a single food source”.