Almonds and Health: A Report Card to Boast About

An ounce of almonds a day (about 23 nuts, or a small handful) is a wholesome addition to virtually any diet. Almonds deliver valuable nutrients—protein, unsaturated fat, vitamikn E, antioxidants, fiber—with no unwanted baggage. When you can replace less-desirable fats and refined flours with almonds or almond products in baking, you are doing your customers a favor.

Of course almonds are not calorie free—they have 163 calories per ounce—but even on that front, they more than pull their weight. After all, a good diet is not just about the calories. It's about the nutrients you get with the calories you consume.

Almonds are considered "nutrient dense"—which means they provide a lot of benefit in proportion to their calories. At the other extreme are so-called "empty calories," like those from soda or candy. What's more, almonds do a good job of satisfying hunger and make people feel satiated.

One intriguing study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, involved 20 overweight women who ate 300 calories' worth of almonds every day for 10 weeks. The rest of their diet was at their discretion. Surprisingly, these women did not gain weight, indicating that they naturally compensated for the almond calories by eating less of something else.

Another fascinating study supports the claim that almonds are a heart-healthy snack. Subjects who snacked on almonds had significantly better cholesterol readings at the end of the trial than those who snacked on low-saturated-fat whole-wheat muffins.

And can we talk antioxidants? Those are the compounds that neutralize free radicals in the body, so they prevent damage to cells. You may have heard that broccoli and green tea are loaded with antioxidants. But you probably weren't aware that almonds, ounce for ounce, have a comparable amount. To get the maximum benefit, keep the skins on.

In this video demo, Culinary Institute of America pastry chef-instructor Stephen Durfee uses finely ground almonds and fragrant almond oil to flavor a butter-free Almond Cake with Yogurt. Note how he uses crushed almonds to give crunch and visual appeal to the cake's surface.