Almonds: A FitMan Food

Almonds are so good for you, they are my first entry in the Fitness Mantra Hall of Fame and I also declare them to be a Fitness Mantra (or FitMan, for short) Food. On this site I plan to discuss the healthy and unhealthy aspects of various types of foods and those that should have pride of place in you kitchen will be called FitMan Foods. You can be assured that only the most healthful of foods will qualify for this position (I am sorry Krispy Kreme, please step to the back of the line!)

Almonds are one of the best foods you can consume on a daily basis and have many healthful benefits which I’ll describe in this post.

Nutrition:

First consider the nutrition data of an ounce of almonds (from Fitness Mantra’s favorite site, NutritionData):

An ounce of almonds (about 20-25 almonds, depending on the size of the nut) makes for a wonderful snack and packs in 6g of protein and 3.3g of fiber. While nuts, in general, have a high fat content, the fat in almonds is of the monounsaturated variety (I will soon be writing in detail about fats, but for now, just remember that saturated(think: butter)=bad and monounsaturated(think: olive-oil)=good)

Benefits of eating almonds:

It is a nutritionally dense food (packs in more nutrients when compared by weight) with the following wonderful benefits:

1. 7.3 mg of Vitamin E per ounce: A great source of anti-oxidants (almost a third of your daily need in just this one serving!), almonds help neutralise free radicals (which are bad for the cells in your body).
2. 9.1 g of monounsaturated fats: These are heart-healthy fats that tend to lower your total and LDL(bad) cholesterol while increasing your HDL(good) cholesterol. In a clinical trial published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation, men and women who ate one daily ounce of almonds for a month lowered their LDL cholesterol by 4.4 percent. Those who ate two daily ounces of almonds lowered their LDL cholesterol even more – by 9.4 percent – and maintained their weight. (via Almonds Are In).
3. Reduces risk of heart disease: A Harvard Nurses’ Health Study shows that women who consumed more than five ounces of nuts a week lowered their risk of heart disease by 35%.
4. Helps you lose weight: Eating almonds as part of a right-calorie diet (I hate using the term low-calorie diet, because you need the right number of calories for your body type and requirement), can significantly help you lose weight (as reported by International Journal of Obesity).
5. 6g of protein: Proteins are the buiding blocks of muscle, which in turn give your body a defined shape and also increase your metabolism so you burn calories even when you are not active. In addition, plant based sources of protein, come with an added side benefit that you cannot get from animal sources, and that is …
6. … Fiber (3.3 g of it): As I wrote in Quick Tip #2, a diet rich in fiber, helps in digesting your food and increasing regularity while at the same time controlling cholesterol.

I usually sprinkle almonds on my oatmeal, yogurt or cottage cheese and also use them as salad toppings. You can dry roast them to make them more crunchy but avoid the salted variety as they have a high sodium content.

More resources:

1. Almonds Are In is a great online resource that describes all the healthful benefits of almonds.
2. Men’s Health has a head to head comparison of nuts (no prizes for guessing the winner!) and also suggests easy ways to add more almonds to your diet.
3. GetYourE describes the basics of Vitamin E, of which almonds are a great source.
4. And finally, a link to NutritionData’s factsheet for almonds (change the serving size to 1 ounce).

Almonds are easily available, easily portable and easily one of the best foods for your body - a proud Hall-of-Famer. Make it part of your diet today!

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