A few weeks ago I began an Advocare adventure. It's cool. One thing I quickly learned was, "Almonds are my friend." Turns out they are also good for heart health too. More and more studies are finding that incorporating certain nuts, such as almonds, into a heart-healthy diet brings many benefits.Almonds, for example, have an ideal combination of fats -mono unsaturates with some polyunstaurate.
They are packed with vitamin E and magnesium and are a good source of protein and fiber. (I knew there was a reason I loved them, besides the sensation of having a "treat" on this eating plan.) Research shows that eating an ounce of almonds a day in place of foods high in saturated fat can lower cholesterol. In one study by John Hopkins University and Harvard University, almonds were eaten as a snack in a protein diet and an unsaturated fat diet, but not in a carbohudrate diet. Researchers discovered that the protein and unsaturated ftat diets improved blood pressure and LDL (bad) cholesterol and total cholesterol levels more than the carbohydrate diet did.
Another study by the University of Toronto showed that incorporating almonds (14gms, or about 12 almonds, per 1000 calories) into a heart healthy diet reduced LDL or "bad" cholesterol by an amount similar to that produced by cholesterol medications called statins. Eating this way even reduced the amount of inflammation in the blood vessels, which has a strong association with heart disease.
So....Almonds are a girl's best friend, for sure. As you are out there on the highways and byways of America, I recommend you go nuts....eating almonds, that is.
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