Almonds are a true all-round talent. These have long been considered nutritious and tasty snacks, and the latest research results provide even more reason to include almonds in a healthy diet for people with diabetes mellitus or its precursor, prediabetes. On the one hand, they significantly improve blood sugar control, and on the other hand, they positively affect cholesterol levels. Those who eat almonds for breakfast have lower blood sugar levels and feel fuller for longer.
Almonds Ensure Healthy Blood Sugar Levels
The immediate and second meal effects (i.e., the impact on the following meal) of almonds in adults with reduced glucose tolerance. They have reduced glucose tolerance, resulting in a reduced ability of the metabolism to maintain blood sugar levels within the normal range after glucose ingestion without causing a temporary, unacceptable increase in blood sugar.
He came to the following conclusion: almonds contain various components, such as unsaturated fatty acids and fiber, which prevent blood sugar levels from rising too much after meals. Adding almonds to a carbohydrate-rich breakfast can reduce blood sugar concentrations after breakfast and lunch.
In the study, the researchers analyzed how different almond shapes affect insulin sensitivity and the feeling of satiety in test subjects with a precursor to diabetes mellitus (= prediabetes or pathological glucose tolerance). Study participants who ate a breakfast containing whole almonds felt fuller for longer and had lower blood sugar levels after breakfast and the second meal than those who ate a breakfast without almonds.
Lower Cholesterol Levels With Almonds
Anyone who covers 20 percent of their daily calorie needs with almonds can significantly improve their body fat, fasting insulin and blood sugar levels, and other essential body values. A study with 22 patients, all of whom had type 2 diabetes mellitus. On the one hand, some patients underwent an NCEP Step II diet, in which less than 7% of the daily calorie intake came from saturated fatty acids and less than 200 mg of cholesterol.
The second part of the patients followed an almond diet, in which 20% of daily calories were provided by almonds, including roasted, unsalted, whole almonds in main courses, desserts, or snacks. On average, each participant consumed 56 grams of almonds per day. Compared to the NCEP Step II diet, patients on the almond diet significantly reduced body fat, fasting insulin and blood sugar levels, total cholesterol levels, levels of LDL cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol), and the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol (“good” cholesterol).
Important Supplier Of Nutrients
Sven-David Müller, nutrition expert and medical journalist, Weimar an der Lahn, knows about the natural goodness of almonds: “Almonds should be part of a balanced diet. Compared to other nuts, gram for gram, almonds are the ones with the highest protein and fiber content, vitamin E, calcium, riboflavin, and niacin.
That’s why my recommendation is to eat a handful of almonds a day, which doesn’t make you fat but actually helps with weight loss, keeps cravings at bay, and keeps your energy level high. Almonds provide important and valuable nutrients such as calcium, which supports our bone structure. Due to their cholesterol-lowering effect and their positive influence on blood sugar levels, they are also ideal for the diet of diabetics.”
About The Almond Board Of California
Consumers worldwide enjoy California almonds as a natural, wholesome, high-quality food, making almonds California’s leading export product by value. The Almond Board of California promotes almonds through its research-based approach to marketing, cultivation, and production on behalf of more than 6,000 California almond growers and processors, a large portion of which are multi-generational family farms.
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