See You at IDEA World!

Visit us within the Nutrition and Behavior Change Summit Row in the Expo Hall to learn about the array of resources that the Almond Board offers to fitness professionals, including:

• Fueling Fitness Webinar Series (read more about this below)
• Client handouts on topics ranging from /post workout snacks ideas, weight management and heart health to ways to use almond butter, the science behind sustained energy and more
• How to order our FREE Fueling Fitness Tin Time Kit that includes our Perfect Portion Tins filled with almonds and a copy of our Fueling Fitness snacking handout, for you to share with your clients

FUELING FITNESS WEBINAR SERIES

Did you catch our 4-part Fueling Fitness Webinar Series, moderated by the one and only Todd Durkin? This snack-sized masterclass explores the current state of the fitness industry and ways to make your business shine, despite obstacles. Each episode includes interviews with different fitness industry leaders, along with extensive handouts. And… each webinar is approved for 0.5 credit by ACE! Check out the summary of each episode topic listed below and click here to watch the webinars.

Episode 1 –Fitness Business Best Practices with Guest Travis Barnes

Todd and Travis discuss fitness business best practice for both the short-term, as well as the long-term. Todd also shares his tried and true tips for building a business that is built to last, including creating a world-class culture, building and motivating a team, maximizing the customer and member experience, and creating a business that is profitable and delivers maximum impact.

Episode 2 – Lean Into Your Leadership with Guest Andrew Simpson

A leader of one, a leader of many, if you can’t lead one, you can’t lead any. In this episode, Todd and Andrew dive into a deep discussion on leadership. This entails focusing on the hiring process, learning how to inspire your teams and clients, establishing your core values mission and vision, and how to be a purpose-driven business that creates massive positive impact. 

Episode 3 – Marketing and Branding Best Practices with Guest Trina Gray

This episode teaches fitness professionals how to amplify their services, programs, and gifts so that they can scale their message and impact. Todd and Trina tackle common digital marketing and branding questions and solutions, including social media, podcasting, digital marketing, and more. Todd and Trina give their top tips on what they have done to create successful brick & mortar businesses as well as personal brands.

Episode 4 – How to Grow and Adapt Your Business in a Hybrid Setting with Guest Jeff Bristol

Todd and Jeff explain how fitness professionals can train clients and members in the studio, club, or gym or simultaneously on-line via a live or on-demand platform. They showcase many opportunities to scale both business models immediately to reach new people, generate more revenue, and increase profit and impact

RESEARCH UPDATE: Mental Stress: Can Your Snack Make a Difference?

Mental stress is among the psychosocial factors thought to contribute to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.  Heart rate variability (HRV), a measure of the fluctuation in time intervals between consecutive heartbeats, is an important indicator of the cardiovascular system’s response to stress and it is thought that lifestyle factors including physical activity and diet might impact HRV. Higher HRV represents greater adaptability of the heart in response to environmental and psychological challenges, while low HRV is linked to cardiovascular disease and sudden cardiac death.  As part of a recent clinical trial, researchers at King’s College London measured HRV in participants undergoing a laboratory mental stress challenge and saw improvement in some measures of HRV in participants who had been replacing typical snacks with almonds over a six-week period.  The study¹ was funded by the Almond Board of California.

This new research finding was a secondary outcome measure of the ATTIS study, a 6-week randomized control, parallel-arm trial, where participants with above average cardiovascular disease risk consumed a daily snack of almonds or a calorie-matched control snack providing 20% of each participants’ estimated daily energy needs. 

Participants in this study were British men and women, aged 30 to 70 years. Researchers measured their real-time heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) at rest (lying down for 5-minute periods) and during a Stroop test (in which participants were asked to read colored words i.e. say “red” in a green font) to simulate a short period of mental stress.

During acute mental stress, participants in the almond group showed greater cardiac resilience. This was demonstrated by better heart rate regulation compared to the control group, indicated by statistically significant differences in high frequency power, which specifically evaluates beat-to-beat intervals (a measure of HRV).  

“This study shows that the simple dietary strategy of swapping almonds for typical snacks may bolster resilience to the adverse cardiovascular effects of mental stress by improving regulation of heart rate.  We found that the stress-induced reduction in heart rate variability was lessened in the almond group compared to control following the dietary intervention, which indicates a cardiovascular health benefit.  It is useful to think of having a higher HRV as the heart being able to switch gears faster in response to demands on the body, which means more cardiac resilience and flexibility during periods of stress.  In the long term, this is beneficial for cardiovascular health,” said Dr. Wendy Hall, PhD, co-principal investigator and Reader in Nutritional Sciences at King’s College London.  The researchers acknowledge that the mechanisms underlying this effect are still unknown and long-term studies are needed to understand this as well as the effects of almonds on HRV in at-risk populations.

“These results support our growing knowledge about almonds and heart health. And, they’re particularly timely given the heightened levels of stress many of us are experiencing right now, alongside increased snacking, from working at home,” said Dr Sarah Berry, PhD, co-principal investigator.

Years of heart health research – including a systematic review and meta-analysis² – support the inclusion of almonds in heart healthy eating plans.* Both ATTIS studies included measures that had never before been evaluated in clinical research trials investigating the impact of almonds. Although additional studies are needed to confirm these findings, the improvements in certain measures of HRV suggest that almonds may provide unexpected heart health benefits.  Almonds provide 6 grams of plant protein, 4 grams of filling fiber and 15 essential nutrients - including 20% of the Daily Value for magnesium and 50% of daily needs for vitamin E - in every healthy handful. Click here to view the full study.

Helpful Handouts

FUEL UP FOR FITNESS

PROTEIN POWER

1. Vita Dikariyanto, Leanne Smith, Philip J Chowienczyk, Sarah E  Berry, Wendy L Hall. Snacking on whole almonds for six weeks increases heart rate variability during mental stress in healthy adults: a randomized controlled trial. Nutrients 2020, 12(6), 1828; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12061828

2. Musa-Veloso K, Paulionis L, Poon T, Lee HL. The effects of almond consumption on fasting blood lipid levels: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.  Journal of Nutritional Science 2016; 5(e34):1-15. 

*Good news about almonds and heart health. Scientific evidence suggests, but does not prove, that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most nuts, such as almonds, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease. One serving of almonds (28g) has 13g of unsaturated fat and only 1g of saturated fat.