Who doesn’t love snacking? But the problem with anytime munching is that it can lead to multiple other issues like weight gain, cardiovascular disease, and so on. But thankfully, we have a science-backed solve for this. A study just proved that snacking on almonds may improve your heart health by leaps and bounds. The study published in the European Journal of Nutrition suggests that replacing popular snacks like biscuits, chips, and namkeen with almonds can improve endothelial function, a key indicator of cardiovascular health and lower ‘bad’ cholesterol.
Snacking on almonds will also help in weight loss, says the study
According to the study, people who eat almonds have a lower waist circumference by 2.1 cm and lower body mass index (BMI) than those who do not. In the research trial, the researchers led by Wendy Hall from Kings College London in the UK, compared cardiometabolic health markers between the two groups.
It was found that there was an improvement in endothelial function and LDL-cholesterol levels after replacing typical snacks with almonds as 20% of total calorie intake has the potential to reduce adjusted relative cardiovascular disease risk by 32%, the researchers said.“This study shows that eating almonds in place of the typical snacks that many of us consume is beneficial for our heart health by reducing levels of bad LDL-cholesterol and improving the health of our arteries,” Hall said.“Based on existing data on risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), we predict that replacing typical snacks with almonds in the long term would result in a 30% reduction in the adjusted relative risk of a cardiovascular event,” she said.
Snacking on almonds can help you curb your urges for junk food
If all you can think of is fries and burgers then eating almonds can be a real good bet. The team of researchers says that people who eat almonds have less craving for unhealthy snacks. The researchers examined a four-day food diary from 6,802 adults and found that adults who eat almonds have healthier diets, as they have higher reported intakes of protein, total fat, vitamin C, fibre, potassium, and other healthy supplements.“Consumption of whole tree nuts such as almonds is an important part of a healthy diet; our research using a large UK population database shows that intakes are low in adults, but those who do report eating almonds are also more likely to consume healthier diets in general and have lower body fat,” said Hall.
