A book I wrote in the late 1990’s titled What Does Your Doctor Look Like Naked?, expresses the importance of a great snack idea – almonds!
Snacking is a nearly universal behavior in the United States, as an estimated 97% of Americans consume at least one snack per day. As we face more and more weight related disorders, however, the ideal snack is but one potential target (or option) that can benefit or harm people interested in attaining or maintaining health.
A recent study from Purdue University in Indiana divided participants into five groups: a control group that avoided all nuts and seeds; a breakfast meal group and a lunch meal group, each of which ate 1.5 ounces of almonds with their daily breakfast or lunch; and a morning snack group and an afternoon snack group, each of which consumed 1.5 ounces of almonds between their customary meals. All almond snacks were eaten approximately two hours after participants’ last meal and two hours before their next meal. Partakers of the study were not given any other dietary instructions, other than to follow their usual eating patterns and physical activity. Compliance to consuming almonds was monitored through self-reported dietary intake estimates and fasting vitamin E plasma levels.
At the end of the four-week study, the Purdue team found that the study participants eating 1.5 ounces of dry-roasted, lightly salted almonds every day, experienced reduced hunger and improved vitamin E concentrations without increasing body weight. Almonds as a snack showed “post-ingestive metabolic and appetite benefits and did not increase the risk for weight gain” according to the study directors.
As I do not work for the almond industry, it is safe for me to say, once again, that almonds are a great snack option and may be very beneficial in your quest for optimal health and weight loss.
