Almonds, when compared to a popular discretionary snack item, can be added to the meals of regular snackers to enhance diet quality without indication of changes in body weight as per a new trial that was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
A serving of almonds contains most of the fiber, protein, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, magnesium, calcium, iron, folate, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin E, phytosterols, flavonoids, and phenolic acids while being low in calories, available carbohydrates, and saturated fat. They are high-energy-dense foods that are like the low-energy-dense foods when consumed. Previous literature suggested many health benefits with regular almond consumption without adverse weight gain. But most of them are relatively short or have included more than one dietary advice. Hence researchers conducted a trial to compare the effects of the consumption of almonds versus biscuits on body weight and other health outcomes in a population of regular snackers of discretionary foods, hypothesizing that almonds will displace some of the less healthful snacks in their current diets.
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About 136 non-obese habitual discretionary snack consumers were randomly assigned to receive almonds or biscuits daily for one year. These isocaloric snacks provided either 10% of participants’ total energy (TE) requirements or 1030 kJ (equivalent to 42.5 g almonds), whichever was greater. Anthropometry, blood biomarkers, diet, appetite, sleep, and, physical activity, were assessed at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months, and body composition and resting metabolic rate at baseline and 12 months.
Key findings:
No statistically significant difference in changes in body weight, changes in body composition, or other non-dietary outcomes from baseline to 12 months were seen.
Absolute intakes of the following statistically significantly increased from baseline in the almond compared to the biscuit group.
Increased parameters
protein;
total, polyunsaturated, and monosaturated fat;
fiber;
vitamin E;
calcium;
copper; magnesium; phosphorous; and zinc, and
% TE from total monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fat
Absolute intakes of the following statistically significantly decreased from baseline in the almond compared to the biscuit group.
Decreased parameters
% TE from carbohydrate and sugar
Thus, habitual snackers can incorporate almonds into their diet due to their various benefits and improve the quality of their diet.
Further reading: Brown RC, Ware L, Gray AR, Tey SL, Chisholm A. Comparing the effects of consuming almonds or biscuits on body weight in habitual snackers: A one-year randomized controlled trial [published online ahead of print, 2023 May 6]. Am J Clin Nutr. 2023;S0002-9165(23)48908-3. doi:10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.05.015