Are you looking for a snack that’s delicious and nutritious?
Look no further! We’ve got the perfect superfood for you!
Almonds aren’t just convenient and mess-free snacking; they also provide a ton of amazing health benefits. With only a handful of almonds a day, your body will receive a significant boost in nutrients.
Go ahead and take a look at these seven incredible health benefits you can gain by taking a snack break. Maybe grab a few almonds to munch on while you read!
1. Almonds Are Full of Antioxidants
Your body produces antioxidants naturally, but you can also find them in a lot of different fruits — namely fruits and vegetables.
They are absolutely essential to a healthy diet.
While your body makes good things, it makes some not so good things as well. One of those things is free radicals. In high numbers, these nasty little guys can harm your body by damaging your cells through oxidative stress.
That’s where antioxidants come in.
They fight off free radicals and keep the number of free radicals in your body nice and low. So the more antioxidants you’re taking in through your diet, the better off you’ll be.
In almonds, antioxidants lie in the brown layer of skin. That means you might want to skip blanched almonds if you’re hoping for this benefit.
2. Almonds Contain Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that you can put a name to. And almonds have an enormous amount of it packed inside them.
One ounce of almonds provides you with almost half of the vitamin E you need in a day.
Vitamin E is fantastic for you. It boosts your immune system and keeps it functioning appropriately. It helps keep your eyes and skin healthy as well by fighting off damage and inflammation caused by outside sources.
Almonds are a great little source for this essential vitamin without you needing to eat a lot of them.
3. Almonds Lower Your Cholesterol
There are different kinds of Cholesterol in your body, and almonds have proven to affect both your good and bad cholesterol.
Consuming a serving of almonds every day may lower your LDL “bad” cholesterol while raising your HDL “good” cholesterol. Keeping these levels maintained is vital to reducing your risk of heart disease.
Almonds can do this because of the fat they contain.
Not all fats are bad for you. Almonds contain unsaturated fat, which is excellent for lowering your cholesterol. They also contain no cholesterol of their own, so you don’t have to worry about adding any to your body.
4. Almonds Help With Digestion
Almonds have prebiotic compounds in their skins that your digestive system loves. They increase the number of good bacteria in your gut that prevents diseases and deficiencies from arising.
A healthy gut microbiome links to positive outcomes in a few big ways. Such as managing weight, insulin function, cholesterol levels, and inflammation.
This could be in part because almonds have such a high fiber content. They are up to 15% fiber.
Adding enough foods that are high in fiber to your diet is essential to keeping your digestive system regular. That’s why a handful of almonds or even a glass of almond milk can really help you out every day.
5. Almonds Reduce Cravings
Almonds have a good amount of protein and fiber in them, both of which increase feelings of fullness.
Unlike junk food, almonds will help you feel full for longer. They’re relatively high in calories so you don’t have to eat that many to feel like you’ve had a substantial snack.
That means you can skip the chocolate bar.
Plus, there’s evidence that your body won’t even absorb up to 15% of the calories from almonds anyway.
And since almonds help regulate your blood sugar, you don’t have to worry about experiencing a rush or crash after enjoying your snack.
6. Almonds Lower Your Blood Pressure
Magnesium deficiency may lead to high blood pressure. When you struggle with high blood pressure, you’re at a higher risk for heart attacks, strokes, and kidney failure.
So you’ll be happy to learn that almonds are incredibly rich in magnesium.
An ounce of almonds contains about 75mg of magnesium.
Adding almonds as a snack to your diet can have an extremely positive effect on your blood pressure as well as your blood sugar, among other things.
7. Almonds Are Good for Your Brain
If you’re looking for brain food, almonds are precisely what you want.
These little beauties contain riboflavin and L-carnitine. Both of which support healthy neurological activity. And can even reduce inflammatory processes in the brain.
It’ll keep your mind energized and working as hard as it should.
Eating almonds can help you protect your brain from cognitive decline down the line. Patients at a high-risk for diseases such as Alzheimer’s are even encouraged to consume almonds daily.
Why shouldn’t you?
In Summary
You won’t find many snacks that have more health benefits than you can count on one hand. Much less a snack with so many benefits that you can fit in one hand.
Almonds may not be your favorite but if you find a way to sneak them into your diet, you won’t be sorry.
These seven health benefits don’t even cover everything almonds can do for you if you give them a try. So don’t forget to add them to your grocery list!
Author bio:
Ryan Sundling is a Group Marketing Manager at Cardinal Group Management. He has over ten years of experience in the conventional housing industry and works with The Proper on a daily basis to help them with their marketing efforts.
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