A new study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, revealed that consuming almonds helps a person in burning away belly fat, in addition to protecting against heart diseases.
The study by researchers from Penn State University found that consuming almonds weighing at least 1.5 ounces, or 42 grams, daily also led to improved levels of low-density lipoproteins and total cholesterol, reductions in waistlines and decreased amounts of leg fat.
The study involved 52 middle-aged subjects that were all overweight and had high LDL and total cholesterol within their bodies. The participants were all provided with a diet aimed to lower cholesterol, along with snacks of either banana muffins or whole almonds in equivalent calories.
The results showed that the people that had almonds as snacks saw a significant decrease in their cholesterol levels, leading to a decreased risk of suffering a stroke.
In addition, the subjects that ate the almonds saw reductions in the fat mass in their abdomens and central adiposity, which increases the risk to heart diseases.
"Our research found that substituting almonds for a high-carbohydrate snack improved numerous heart health risk factors, including the new finding that eating almonds reduced belly fat," said Claire Berryman, the study's lead researcher.
Berryman added that choosing to snack on almonds could be a simple but viable way of fighting against the onset of diseases affecting the metabolic and cardiovascular systems.
The ability of almonds to maintain the good health of the heart is well-known, as confirmed by research conducted by a team from the Aston University in the United Kingdom. The researchers found that adding almonds to a person's daily diet leads to improvements in blood stream levels of alpha tocopherol, an antioxidant, in addition to lower blood pressure and improved blood flow. All these resulted in a healthier heart for the subjects of the study.
Almonds contain several kinds of nutrients, including minerals, fiber and vitamins, which earned the nuts recognition as one of the world's healthiest foods.
Almonds are also great sources of folic acid, which is a very important nutrient for the development of cells, and B-vitamin biotin, which helps improve the health of the skin, prevents hair loss and weight gain, and lowers blood sugar and cholesterol.
Vitamin E can also be found in almonds, which are needed as protection against heart diseases and sunstroke and as maintenance for healthy hair and skin.
