Are you looking for a superfood that is easily and readily available? Is there anything that serves the taste buds and health goals? Almond is the answer to your queries.
What Are Almonds?
Almonds are edible seeds of the almond tree, also known as Prunus dulcis. Humans have used these nutrient-rich seeds since pre-agricultural times. These are well known throughout the whole world and are gaining popularity in recent times due to their availability, affordability, and health benefits. This healthiest snack can be taken as whole food or as a part of some other recipe.
What Are The Uses Of Almonds?
Whether you put it into a recipe or eat it right out of a bag; almonds are the perfect snack for every age group. They are an excellent source of healthy fatty acids and low in sugars. This weight-friendly wonder is part of almost all healthy diet plans.
What Are The Health Benefits Of Almonds?
The benefits of almonds are documented in ancient scripts as well. In recent times, almonds have been studied extensively for their benefits in weight management, diabetes, heart health, and preventing different types of cancer. Almonds have a unique combination of nutrients that contain plant-based protein, monosaturated fats, vitamins E magnesium, and calcium making it a wholesome food.
A few of the key and documented benefits of consuming almonds in good quantities include:
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A perfect source of nutrients:
One ounce serving of almonds contains significant quantities of proteins, fiber, fats, Vitamin E, Manganese, and magnesium. A handful of almonds provide 2.5gm of digestible carbohydrates and only 160 calories. Almonds are especially known for being the world’s best source of tocopherol; a type of vitamin E. One ounce of almonds provides 37% of its recommended daily allowance.
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Rich in Anti-Oxidants:
Almonds are full of antioxidants that protect against free radicals. They prevent damage to the cells by oxidative stress. Hence, they help to decrease inflammation, the aging process, and diseases like cancer. The brown layer of almonds should be taken along to get most of its contained antioxidants.
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Weight management:
Almonds help in weight loss and control blood sugar levels. Being low in carbs and high in fiber makes them a perfect food for obese and diabetic patients. Almonds tend to lower the bad cholesterol levels in the body as well. LDL is a documented risk factor for heart disease. Almonds replace this bad LDL with healthy HDL.
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Lowering Blood pressure:
Almonds are also useful in lowering blood pressure due to large quantities of magnesium and manganese. Many studies suggest that almonds decrease systolic blood pressure as they help to enhance the dilatation capacity of blood vessels. therefore, Almonds make an important ingredient in diet plans for hypertension such as the DASH diet.
What Makes Almonds An Anti-cancer Food?
Cancer or malignancy is the uncontrolled proliferation of cells anywhere in the body. It is a fatal issue and has a complex pathophysiology. Inflammation is the biggest culprit that triggers and aggravates the formation of cancer cells. Timely and effective management of inflammation can reduce the chances of having Cancer.
Any food items that fight inflammation are beneficial in the prevention of different kinds of cancer. Almonds are very special in this regard because they are a rich source of antioxidants. The antioxidants inside almonds scavenge the free radicals and seal them off before they damage the cell starting the cancer process.
Alpha-tocopherol, the active form of vitamin E, is of special mention here. It is a strong antioxidant. Along with other essential minerals and vitamins, Almonds offer a complete package for being an anti-cancer food.
Many research articles have proved the role of almonds in bearing anticancer properties. The high consumption may help reduce the risk of breast cancer by 2-3 times. Apart from breast cancer, almonds also protect against colorectal malignancies. Research in Taiwan reported that females consuming peanut products twice a week were less likely to have cancerous cells. In the same regard, the use of almonds may help avoid all types of cancers such as ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, and breast cancer.
In short, Almonds have an established role of being a super healthy food traditionally. there is growing evidence that almonds are dense in nutrients, and have Cardinal Health benefits in addition to having anticancer qualities.
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