Frequently eating almonds can help you lose weight despite nuts being high in fats, latest research reveals.
A new study from the University of South Australia has found that eating almonds in an energy restricted diet is also linked with good cardiometabolic health.
By regularly eating Californian almonds as part of an energy restricted diet, people are expected to lose around seven kilograms in weight.
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Nearly two billion people around the world are overweight, while 650 million are living with obesity.
Lead author Dr Sharayah Carter said: “The study demonstrates how nuts can support a healthy diet for weight management and cardiometabolic health.
“Nuts, like almonds, are a great snack. They’re high in protein, fibre, and packed with vitamins and minerals, but they also have a high fat content which people can associate with increased body weight.”
She added: “Nuts contain unsaturated fats – or healthy fats – which can improve blood cholesterol levels, ease inflammation, and contribute to a healthy heart.
“In this study we examined the effects of an almond-supplemented diet with a nut-free diet to identify any influences on weight and cardiometabolic outcomes.”
She concluded: “Both the nut and nut free diets resulted in approximately 9.3% reduction in body weight over the trial.
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“Yet the almond-supplemented diets also demonstrated statistically significant changes in some highly atherogenic lipoprotein subfractions, which may lead to improved cardiometabolic health in the longer term. Additionally, nuts have the added benefit of making you feel fuller for longer, which is always a pro when you’re trying to manage your weight.”
A total of 106 people took part in the study by completing an eating programme for nine months.
The results shows that 15% of the participants’ energy intake comprised of unsalted whole almonds with skins.
The study was published in the research journal Obesity.
