Grab a handful of this super nut

Today’s fast-paced life demands for a healthier and a fitter ‘you’. The increasing incidence of heart disease, obesity and other lifestyle-related disorders is alarming. It is about time you make some healthy lifestyle choices.

One simple step to achieve this is to include nuts like almonds in your daily diet. Almonds are a waistline-friendly snack known to boost heart health. Let’s take a look at some lesser-known facts about this superfood:

Almonds are a great source of vitamin E antioxidants, dietary fibre, riboflavin, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, protein, manganese and calcium. They also contain folate, iron, niacin, thiamine, zinc and potassium.

A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found that consuming 43 gm of dry-roasted, lightly salted almonds every day, reduced hunger and improved dietary vitamin E and monounsaturated fat intake.

Almonds lower total and LDL cholesterol and reduce the levels of heart damaging inflammation.

Snacking on almonds also reduces belly fat and waist circumference, which are all well-established risk factors for heart disease.

Research shows that almonds can help maintain healthy blood sugar levels, improve blood sugar control in people with Type 2 diabetes and lower the blood sugar impact of carbohydrate foods.

Thanks to their trusty antioxidants, almonds have considerable shelf-life. When kept in cool, dry conditions, whole natural almonds can be stored for about two years.

A handful of almonds make for a nutrient-rich convenient snack that can be eaten anywhere, any time of the day and throughout the year.

(The author is a nutritionist and Pilates expert)