HEALTH BENEFITS OF ALMOND

WHAT ARE THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF ALMOND?
Almond may provide many health benefits including cardiac protection and cholesterol- lowering. And, these health benefits are probably related to its rich content of antioxidants and factty acids.

What does almond contain?Almond contain some important phytochemicals such as sphingolipid, beta-sitosterol, daucosterol, uridine, and adenosine. [3] Almond also contain a protein called amandin. Amandin is a legumin type protein characterized by a sedimentation value of 14S. It is composed of two major types of polypeptides with estimated molecular weights of 42-46 and 20-22 kDa linked via disulfide bonds. Amandin is not a glycoprotein. Amandin-1, amandin-2, and amandin-3 are antigenically related and have similar biochemical properties. [2] Researchers studied the flavonol content of 16 almond varieties and they found each of the 16 seedcoat samples exhibited a unique composition. [4] Four flavonol glycosides were identified in almond seedcoats: isorhamnetin rutinoside, isorhamnetin glucoside, kaempferol rutinoside, and kaempferol glucoside. [1] Among these flavonol glycosides, isorhamnetin rutinoside was the most abundant flavonol glycoside, and the total content ranged from 75 to 250 microg/g.

[4]WHAT ARE THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF ALMONDS?
ANORECTAL PROLAPSEA study has shown that phenol in almond oil injection therapy is a simple and safe procedure for anorectal prolapse in children. Nine children with rectal prolapse, aged from 2 to 14 years were treated by phenol in almond oil injection sclerotherapy. All nine patients were cured after one to three injections without any complications. Two out of 4 children with constipation prior to injection therapy had no longer constipation thereafter.

[6]ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES
Consumption of tree nuts such as almonds has been associated with benefits of reducing risk of coronary heart disease. Flavonoids, found predominantly in the skin of almonds, may contribute to their putative health benefit.Almond has shown its anti-oxidation activities in various studies. [7, 9] In a study of hamster, researchers found that Almond skin flavonoids possess antioxidant capacity in vitro and they are bioavailable. Vitamins C and E act in synergy with Almond skin flavonoids to provide benefits of protecting LDL against oxidation in hamsters. The peak plasma concentration (Cmax) of catechin, epicatechin, and flavonols (quercetin, kaempferol, and isorhamnetin) occurred at 60, 120, and 180 min, respectively. The concentration of isorhamnetin was significantly elevated in liver at 180 min. Absorbed Almond skin flavonoids enhanced the ex vivo resistance of hamster LDL collected at 60 min to oxidation by 18.0% (P = 0.028), and the in vitro addition of 5.5 micromol/L vitamin E synergistically extended the lag time of the 60-min sample by 52.5%. [7] In another study, researchers from Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, prepared almond hulls (Nonpareil variety) extracts with methanol. And, the extract mainly contained chlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid and sterols (stigmasterol, beta-sitosterol) . They found that at an equivalent concentration (10 microg/1 g of methyl linoleate) almond hull extracts had higher antioxidant activity than alpha-tocopherol. [12]The cell walls of almond seeds reduce lipid bioaccessibility by hindering the release of lipid available for digestion. Seed coat cell wall contains a large amount of phenolic compounds while the cell walls are rich in non-starch polysaccharides, particularly arabinose-rich polysaccharides. [8,10] During chewing, i.e. disruption of almond tissue, only the first layer of cells at the fractured surface is ruptured and able to release the lipid. Researchers examined fecal samples collected from subjects consuming the almond diet, they found intact cotyledonary cells, in which the cell walls encapsulated intracellular lipid.

[8]CHOLESTEROL- LOWERING ACTIVITIESGuess which one of the following almond products have more benefits to high cholesterol: roasted salted almonds, roasted almond butter or raw almonds? In a study, researchers fed 38 human subjects with high cholesterol profiles with heart-healthy diets including 100g of one of three forms of almonds: roasted salted almonds, roasted almond butter or raw almonds for four weeks. They found that all forms of almonds in the context of a heart-healthy diet significantly lowered low-density lipoprotein- cholesterol (LDL) from baseline to the completion of the study. Both raw and roasted almonds significantly lowered triglyceride levels, but almond butter did not lower the triglyceride to a statistical significance. However, they all didn't have much effect on High-density lipoprotein- cholesterol (HDL) and blood pressure. [11]

Guess which one has more benefits on plasma lipids: whole-almond or almond oil. Researchers supplied 22 healthy subjects with either whole almonds or almond oil for 6-wk periods. They found that fat replacement with either whole almonds and almond oil resulted in a 54% increase in percentage of energy as monounsaturated fat with declines in both saturated fat and cholesterol intake and no significant changes in total energy, total or polyunsaturated fat intake. The effects of whole almonds and almond oil on plasma lipids did not differ compared with baseline; plasma triglyceride, total and LDL cholesterol significantly decreased, 14, 4 and 6% respectively, whereas HDL cholesterol increased 6%. [13]