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Study shows no weight gain with almond consumption
Saturday, July 28, 2007
By For The Madera Tribune
New preliminary research presented at the Experimental Biology Annual Meeting in Washington, explores the effect of almonds as they travel through the body.
From chewing and satiety to digesting and nutrient absorption, this new research indicates that the health benefits of almonds take affect the moment they enter your mouth.
Previous studies have observed that despite the addition of a handful of almonds to a daily diet, subjects do not gain weight. Thus researchers have been studying the chewing and digestion of almonds to learn more about how the nutrients from almonds are absorbed and why eating almonds is so satisfying.
One new study at EB showed the effect of chewing almonds on the availability of nutrients. Healthy subjects were asked in random order to chew a half ounce of almonds 10, 25 or 40 times before swallowing. The study found that subjects who chew fewer times, or as they would under normal conditions, absorb fewer calories compared to subjects who chew almonds 40 times. These findings will help to expand on previous research showing why almonds can be part of a weight maintaining diet.
"Our study shows that the calories we can use from almonds are less than predicted. The efficiency with which we chew almonds impacts how many calories we absorb from them," said study author Richard Mattes, PhD, RD, from Purdue University.
"This is consistent with previous research showing that some of almonds' fat is not absorbed because it is trapped in the unbroken cells. Therefore, the estimated calories listed on the food label are more than the amount actually available in our bodies."
