The Nutrition Research Committee (NRC) had 21 active clinical research projects being conducted at prestigious research institutes across the globe when COVID-19 struck. Of these, four studies were investigating the role of almonds in glycemic regulation, three studies were looking at physical performance outcomes, and two studies each were focused on areas of gut health, metabolic health, weigh management, and skin health, respectively. Other studies fell under the miscellaneous research category.
In spite of the severe impact the pandemic had on our ongoing research since the lockdowns in March of 2020, two of the active studies have progressed to completion, and the other 19 projects are in various stages of resuming work. Delays caused by COVID-19 had the potential to completely derail our studies and the Nutrition Research Program. However, we persevered. Associate Director of the Almond Board of California (ABC) Nutrition Research program, Dr. Swati Kalgaonkar, worked diligently with study researchers towards practical solutions to ensure protocol robustness and study integrity. We did suffer significant impact to the timeliness of our research pipeline, but that is true for all funded research across the industry, clinical or otherwise.
Completed and ongoing research
The committee's more recently completed studies have involved skin health and the effect of almond consumption on wrinkle subsidence, protection from photoaging,1 and improving pigmentary changes in the skin. Three papers have been published, thus far, in the area of skin health, of which two were published recently in 2021 – all with promising results.
In addition, in partnership with Nutrition Research Education Fund (NREF), NRC is continuing to investigate almond consumption benefits in the following areas:
- Almonds’ impact on neurodegenerative (degeneration of the nervous system) delay as part of a Mediterranean diet.
- Research conducted at Harvard and Rush universities.
- Investigating the benefits of nut intake for those with metabolic syndrome.
- Research conducted at Vanderbilt University.
- Determining the role of nuts in weight management.
- Research conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Update on Dietary Guidelines
The “Dietary Guidelines for Americans” (DGA), which released its first publication in 1980, is an initiative led by the federal government to provide dietary advice to all Americans. The publication, issued through a joint effort between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is updated once every five years in order to stay current with evolving nutrition science and research.
The 2020-2025 edition was released in December 2020 with the key message “Make Every Bite Count” in an effort to remind Americans to be mindful of all foods they consume and to reap as many benefits as possible from nutritious, healthy foods recommended by the guidelines. Additionally, for the first time, DGA provided recommendations by life stage, from birth through older adulthood, and the recommended dietary patterns section of the guidelines specifically called out tree nuts and maintained the recommended nut intake found in a Mediterranean-style diet, despite advice from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee to reduce it.
This is a current overview of where we are now and where we are proceeding with future work. Dr. Kalgaonkar and I are always available to answer any of your questions regarding the work of NRC. You may reach me at nostalgiachev57@yahoo.com and Dr. Kalgaonkar at skalgaonkar@almondboard.com.
1 Photoaging, as defined by the Canadian Dermatology Association, is “premature aging of the skin caused by repeated exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UV), primarily from the sun but also from artificial UV sources.”
