RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT: Almonds can help with exercise recovery, skin health and prediabetes – a triple threat!
Almonds – a food for fitness: We all know the importance of properly fueling our bodies for exercise. But what about exercise recovery? Initial research1 has shown almonds may be a perfect snack for recovering from exercise, whether you’re a weekend warrior or a competitive athlete.
A new study involving people who exercise less than 3 times a week reported that snacking on almonds reduced feelings of fatigue and tension, increased leg and lower back strength during recovery, and decreased muscle damage during the first day of recovery. Study participants included healthy adults with an average age of 46 years, who ate 2 ounces of almonds daily for 4 weeks prior to a 90-minute exercise session. Almond consumers experienced higher levels of the oxylipin 12,13-DiHOME and lower levels for oxylipin 9,10-DiHOME; indication of increased levels of polyphenols; reduced post-exercise fatigue and tension as well as higher levels of leg and lower back strength; lower levels of serum creatine kinase (a marker of muscle damage); and some improvement in mood state.
The study only included non-smoking participants without obesity who exercise occasionally, so findings cannot be generalized to other demographics.
Results of this study suggest that almond consumption may be beneficial in the inflammatory response following exercise and overall help with fatigue from exercise and reduce muscle damage.
Read more here about the study.
Beauty benefits in your snack: November is National Healthy Skin Month – making it a perfect time to choose snacks that benefit your skin. Almonds have been found to support skin health in more ways than one. One serving (one ounce or 23 almonds) offers 50% of the daily value of antioxidant vitamin E and research2 has shown eating almonds may help reduce wrinkle severity and skin pigmentation.
In the study, participants included healthy, postmenopausal women with Fitzpatrick skin type I (always burns, never tans) or II (usually burns, tans minimally). Those who ate about 2 one-ounce servings of almonds showed significant reductions in wrinkle severity, by 15% at week 16 and 16% at week 24, compared to the control group who ate a calorie-matched nut-free snack.
The study was limited to 24 weeks, so results do not provide insight into longer duration and effects of eating almonds. Additionally, the results cannot be generalized to demographics outside of those included in the study and although snacks in both groups were calorie-matched, they were not macronutrient-matched.
Results of this study suggest that daily consumption of almonds can be an effective dietary contributor to improving facial wrinkles and reduce skin pigmentation.
Read more here about the study.
Managing prediabetes - get back to normal blood sugar: With National Diabetes Month around the corner, let’s get smart about snacking for balanced blood sugar. With almonds, it’s never been easier and more beneficial for those with prediabetes!
As part of a dietary strategy for prediabetes, almonds are a perfect snack. The latest study3 shows first-of-its-kind results, where eating almonds before meals reversed nearly one quarter of participants with prediabetes to normal blood glucose regulation.
In the study, 66 participants included Asian Indians with prediabetes and overweight/obesity. The almond group ate 20g of almonds ahead of breakfast, lunch and dinner for three months, which in addition to the prediabetes reversal led to statistically significant reductions in body weight, weight circumference, fasting glucose, postprandial insulin, hemoglobin A1C, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and no changes in beneficial HDL-cholesterol.
Limitations include the relatively small sample size and limited period of intervention. Since the study included Asian Indians who had well-controlled prediabetes, researchers cannot extrapolate the same impact for those with type 2 diabetes.
Ask us about these new studies when visiting our booth at FNCE!
