A delicious snack costing just 28p a portion is named the “world’s most nutritious food”. Beating out more than 1,000 other foods, this nut could also help boost heart health and prevent diabetes.
According to a study, almonds are the most nutritionally dense foods we could eat. The research, conducted by scientists in South Korea, gave almonds an impressive “nutritional fitness” score of 97 out of 100.
Study authors wrote: “Using nutritional information from over 1,000 raw foods, we systematically evaluated the nutrient composition of each food in regards to satisfying daily nutritional requirements.
“The nutrient balance of a food was quantified and termed nutritional fitness; this measure was based on the food’s frequency of occurrence in nutritionally adequate food combinations.”
Basically – the higher this score given by the researchers, the more likely each food would meet, but not exceed your daily nutritional needs, when eaten in combination with others. But what is it that makes them so healthy?
Almonds are packed with protein, fibre, healthy fats (inlcuding monounsaturated), and vitamins and minerals like vitamin E, magnesium, and manganese. BBC Good Food explains that this could offer the following health benefits:
- Reduces hunger and aids weight loss
- Reduces the risk of heart disease
- Supports blood sugar management
- Provides brain-healthy nutrients
- Supports gut health.
Heart disease
Almonds are full of nutrients that help protect the heart, including unsaturated fatty acids, phytosterols, magnesium, vitamin E, copper and manganese. A study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showed that including almonds in your diet may reduce the risk of heart disease, specifically in overweight individuals.
Separate research has revealed that almond consumption helps to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol), which reduces the risk of heart disease.
Diabetes
A study on patients with type 2 diabetes found that including almonds as part of a healthy diet had several benefits on both blood sugar levels and cardiovascular risk factors. Study authors said: “The study findings illustrate that incorporation of almonds in a well-balanced healthy diet leads to multiple beneficial effects on glycemic and cardiovascular disease risk factors in Asian Indian patients with type 2 diabetes.”
Moreover, magnesium, which is found in almonds, is known to aid blood sugar control. The other nine most nutritious foods as ranked by the study were:
- Cherimoya – nutritional score 96/100
- Ocean perch – 89/100
- Flatfish – 88/100
- Chia seeds – 85/100
- Pumpkin seeds – 84/100
- Swiss chard – 78/100
- Pork fat – 73/100
- Beet greens (leaves of beetroot) – 70/100
- Snapper fish – 69/100.
At the time of reporting, a 200g bag of almonds can be bought from Asda for £1.98, working out as roughly 28p a portion.