What Makes Almonds a Superfood?
Your favorite afternoon snack just got even more appetizing. As if we needed another reason to love almonds—one of the healthiest, highest-protein nuts you can find—a 2022 study out of the United Kingdom recently found that almonds also contain a unique fatty acid that’s linked to improved gut health. Read on for more about this breakthrough study, as well as all of the other amazing health benefits almonds have to offer.
The Latest: Eating Almonds Is Linked to Gut Health: A research group at King’s College in London published a small study that found eating a handful of almonds everyday for only four weeks increased the production of butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid, in participants. This fatty acid has been tied to improved gut microbiome health, as it’s a main energy source for cells in the colon. When these cells are functioning at their peak, it creates an ideal environment for healthy gut microbes to flourish.
The gut microbiome is a group of over a trillion microorganisms that work together to support several different aspects of our health, including the gut and digestion, heart health, skin health, mental health, and many more in between. Eating a colorful, plant-heavy, and overall diverse diet—almonds included—is essential to keeping your microbiome balanced and functioning.
Excerpted from Real Simple
