Move over tea, olive oil, turmeric, and milk: there’s a tiny seed that might have just out-distanced all these foods in terms of most research being conducted on it. In the last couple of decades, the humble almond, it turns out, is right on top of a list of foods that are attracting a great deal of research and funding, as more benefits are being dragged out of its kernel, after splitting apart the hull and shell. Reportedly, over 200 peer-reviewed publications that link almonds to various health benefits have been out, these past 20 years. Among the benefits this nearly frenetic research has laid bare are protection for heart health, an edge in weight management, salutary effects on blood sugar, cholesterol, and gut health, and assisting with post-exercise recovery, not to mention, even skin care, and keeping wrinkles at bay.
The energy, and ostensibly, funding behind this activity comes from the Almond Board of California (ABC), established in 1950, and tasked with promoting almond consumption in both the domestic and international markets, but also with ensuring sustainable growing techniques, and of course, promoting research on the health benefits hidden in the nut. The Board actively works with nutritionists and dieticians across the world to work in an effort to integrate almonds, in some form, into the diet. About 4 % of the Board’s funds are budgeted for research and innovation, which includes nutritional research. To get a sense of the finances at play, the ABC successfully secured US $ 7 million in funding from the United States Department of Agriculture, besides US $ 3.41 million for market access and US $ 2,21,000 in foreign market development and US $ 250,000 in emerging markets funding in 2024.
An Indian connection
Key among the international locations that the ABC targets is India, a country, they acknowledge, that makes things easy for them, with the almond already embedded in local cultures, and food practices. It is also the second-biggest international market for almonds, after the United States itself. for In 2023-24, Indian shipments from California amounted to 400 million pounds, a four-time increase since a decade ago.
What’s in the nut?
Here are some basic facts about the almond, just to lay the ground for the powerhouse claims that researchers have made about the nut: one ounce or 28 grams of almonds, comprising roughly 23 nuts apparently pack in 6 grams of protein, 4 grams of fibre, 9 grams of monounsaturated fats, and a smattering of Vitamin E, calcium, potassium, phosphorous, riboflavin (Vitamin B), magnesium and iron. It is of course well known that proteins are building blocks, and help build and preserve and maintain bones, muscle, skin, nails, and confer satiety, while monounsaturated fats help lower harmful cholesterol, and increase protective HDL cholesterol. The multiple benefits that vitamins and minerals confer are also well documented.
As Elena Hemler, the nutrition programme lead with ABC, says, “Almonds are incredibly nutrient dense.” She adds that emerging areas of research include sleep benefits, healthy ageing, and impacts on cancer.
Versatile and healthy
“Post COVID-19,” Clarice Turner, president and CEO, ABC, says, “there has been a great deal of interest in studying what we put on our plates, and healthy stuff in our bodies.” This has also spurred interest in scientifically establishing the perceived beneficial effects of almonds for humans, as a healthy snack.
Almonds are also very versatile today, coming in as many as 14 forms, including oils, kernels, slivers, flour, milk, butter, coming with the shell, skin, blanched, or roasted and in multiple favours, with research on into charming, and tasty food pairings with almonds. Harbinder Maan, associate director, trade, marketing and stewardship, ABC, who spearheads the flavour side of the business says: “Today, almonds come in more forms than any other tree nut.”
The almond industry might have also benefited, in recent times, from seemingly increasing gluten allergies among people in different parts of the world, as it provides flour and milk that are gluten free, and vegan options, explains Emily Fleischmann, vice president, global market development, ABC. As far as allergies go, while nut allergies might be increasing, studies show that less than 1 % of the population have a tree nut (as is the almond) allergy, and less than 0.5 % have almond allergies, thus not of significance to hamper use of the nut itself, Ms. Hemler explains.
Research studies with benefits
Two recent Indian studies, the results of which were published in 2023, showed a strong correlation between good blood sugar control and eating a fixed quantity of almonds. One study led by Anoop Misra, Professor and Chairman, Fortis-C-DOC Centre of Excellence for Diabetes, Metabolic Diseases, and Endocrinology (New Delhi) and Seema Gulati, head, Nutrition Research Group, National Diabetes, Obesity, and Cholesterol Foundation showed that study participants who ate 20g of almonds 30 minutes before a meal showed significant improvements in glycemic control compared to those not eating almonds before meals over three months. The study recommended that almonds can be part of a nutritious dietary solution offering good potential for the reversal of prediabetes to normal glucose regulation in some Asian Indians and therefore potentially prevent or delay the development of diabetes in people with prediabetes.
The other study by Viswanathan Mohan, president and chief of diabetes research at Madras Diabetes Research Foundation in Chennai, India, with collaborators R. M. Anjana, of the MDRF; Richard Mattes, from Purdue University; Jordi Salas from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili; and Walter Willett, MD, Harvard University, showed good control of blood glucose levels. The results of the study indicated that eating almonds daily for 12 weeks reduced insulin resistance and improved pancreatic function besides the positive impact on blood glucose levels. In the control study, the treatment group also achieved significant reductions in body weight, body mass index, and waist circumference during the study period, and lowered total cholesterol levels.
In 2024, a paper by Mark Kern, professor of exercise and nutritional sciences at San Diego State University, showed that snacking on two ounces (57g) of almonds for eight weeks modestly reduced pain ratings, helped maintain muscle strength, and reduced muscle damage after exercise. Another study, this time by Oliver C. Witard, Senior Lecturer in Exercise Metabolism and Nutrition at Kings College London, suggested that snacking on almonds for eight weeks reduced perceived feelings of muscle soreness during recovery from muscle-damaging exercise, resulting in better maintenance of muscle functional capacity.
Almonds’ impact on weight loss has also been evaluated by Alison Coates, Professor of Human Nutrition and Director of the Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition, and Activity at the University of South Australia. She argued in a couple of papers that they may also support weight loss as part of a reduced-calorie diet among adults with overweight or obesity.
Also Read:India the second highest to munch on almonds
Currently research is focussed only on benefits from oral consumption of almonds, explains Ms. Fleischmann, and not really into deriving compounds from almonds that can enter pharmacology, and be used as therapeutics. “We don’t want almonds to be looked upon as medicine,” she says, while Ms. Hemler reasons that the angle is that the whole, raw almond as a package can today be a wonder food.
However, she makes it very clear that nutritionally dense as it is, it is not a silvery bullet. Relying only on a handful of almonds to grant health benefits would be fool-hardy. Following a proper diet and exercise regimen, and supplementing those aspects with regular consumption of almonds in the recommended dose would be the way to go.
(The author was in Modesto, California, U.S. recently, at the invitation of the Almond Board of California.)
Published – March 15, 2025 11:04 am IST