Daily snack of almonds reduces belly fat and waist circumference

In a study led by researchers at Penn State, participants who had a daily snack of almonds experienced reduced belly fat and waist circumference compared to an identical diet with a high-carbohydrate muffin snack with the same number of calories as the almonds.

Participants also found reductions in thigh circumference.

Eating almonds also improved total, LDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels.

These results are the first of their kind to show benefits of eating almonds in terms of reducing regional body fat -specifically abdominal and leg fat. Reducing abdominal fat is of particular benefit given its connection to metabolic syndrome and increased risk for heart disease.

Snacking on ultra-nutritious almonds won’t impact your weight. A study in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that calorie intakes and body weights of participants who ate a daily snack of almonds as a remained similar to those who did not did not eat almonds.

Despite consuming approximately 250 calories from almonds every day for four weeks, participants did not increase their daily total calorie intake over the course of the study. In fact, in total, study participants consumed nearly 7,000 calories from the daily almond serving over the study period of 4 weeks and did not gain weight.

- Credit: Femail