Excellent for cardiovascular health, allowing to combat oxidative stress responsible for cell aging. “Excellent food” Because of their high content of proteins, vitamins and minerals.

However, like all other nuts, almonds have a bad reputation: They make you fat. A new study led by researchers at the University of Toronto (Canada) and published in the journal Mayo Clinic procedures On the contrary, he explains, almonds are not only fat, but not all of the calories they contain are digested and absorbed as is the case with other food sources.

2% reduction in absorbed energy

To reach this conclusion, the researchers used a randomized cross-over trial to study 22 women and men with high cholesterol, who followed three times a month a diet called NCEP Step-2, meaning – less saturated fat and cholesterol. During the three nutrition interventions, they had to eat 75 grams of whole almonds per day, then almonds and muffins, and finally just muffins, just like the control group. The nutritional composition of cakes matches those of almonds in terms of protein, fiber and fat intake.

By analyzing stool, the researchers found that after digestion, about 20% of the calories were not absorbed, and most of them were from the fat in the almonds. This resulted in an approximately 2% reduction in energy absorbed in the overall diet of the study participants.

40 to 60 fewer calories are absorbed each day

So a person who eats the same amount of almonds on a 2,000 to 3,000 calorie daily diet consumes 40 to 60 fewer calories than the labels say. This difference could lead to a weight loss of up to 2.9 pounds per year.

“One of the unique aspects of this study is that it evaluated people with high cholesterol, who are more likely to have cardiovascular disease. Stephanie Nishi, co-author, explains. This has not happened before in this population, which is important because this group usually receives many messages urging them to eat more nuts, due to evidence of nut consumption and heart health. ”