Substituting Almonds for a Muffin May Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease

First Posted: Jan 07, 2015 11:38 AM EST
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When it comes to snacking, what you eat is crucial. Scientists have found that substituting almonds for a high-carbohydrate muffin, eaten as part of an overall healthy diet, improved a number of heart disease risk factors in study participants.

Heart disease remains the number one cause of death in the United States and worldwide. Yet it's estimated that at least 80 percent of premature deaths from cardiovascular disease could be avoided if diet and lifestyle risk factors were controlled.

While past evidence has shown that eating almonds can improve heart health, the researchers decided to investigate this phenomenon a bit further. They conducted 12-week, randomized, controlled clinical studies. In all, 52 overweight, middle-aged adults who had a high total and LDL cholesterol but were otherwise healthy participated. These volunteers ate cholesterol-lowering diets that were identical; the only difference is that one group was given a daily snack of 1.5 ounces of whole natural almonds, while the other group was given a banana muffin that provided the same number of calories.

The researchers found those who ate almonds instead of the muffin decreased total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, non-HDL-cholesterol and remnant lipoproteins. In addition, the muffin snack reduced good cholesterol more than the almond snack.

"Our research found that substituting almonds for a high-carbohydrate snack improved numerous heart health risk factors, including the new finding that eating almonds reduced belly fat," said Claire Berryman, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Choosing almonds as a snack may be a simple way to help fight the onset of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases."

The findings reveal that when it comes to snacks, almonds may be your best bet. Next time you're hungry, substitute a carbohydrate-packed snack for almonds instead.

The findings are published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

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