Chennai: For decades, researchers have investigated how eating almonds promotes heart health and now, there’s a discovery related to almond benefits.
In a newly-published study, snacking on almonds improved endothelial function, which is a key indicator of vascular health.
In addition, consuming almonds instead of a usual snack also lowered ‘bad’ LDL-cholesterol, which is consistent with previous research. The study was funded by the Almond Board of California.
The study was a six-week randomised control, parallel-arm trial, where participants (with above average cardiovascular disease risk) consumed almonds or a calorie-matched control snack providing 20 per cent of each participants’ estimated daily energy needs. The research team then compared cardiometabolic health markers between the two groups.
According to a press note, they found that the almond group, compared to the control group, had increased endothelium-dependent vasodilation by a four per cent unit increase(measured through flowmediated dilation or FMD), which is a strong predictor of the initiation and progression of the disease atherosclerosis.
Improved FMD means that arteries can dilate more easily in response to increased blood flow, which is a strong indicator of cardiovascular health.