{"id":39656,"date":"2015-01-14T08:42:20","date_gmt":"2015-01-14T03:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/?p=39656"},"modified":"2015-05-11T16:09:19","modified_gmt":"2015-05-11T10:39:19","slug":"almonds-and-your-belly-fat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/india\/almonds-and-your-belly-fat","title":{"rendered":"Almonds and Your Belly Fat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Almonds\"<\/a>A few days ago, several newspapers reported that consuming almonds would help reduce belly fat.\u00a0 Their reports were based on a study conducted by researchers from The Pennsylvania State University in the USA.\u00a0 The study findings were published in the Journal of American Heart Association<\/em> this year.<\/p>\n

What is it with almonds that they could help reduce fat levels in the body? \u00a0Why were only almonds included in the study?<\/p>\n

Who funded the almond study?<\/strong><\/p>\n

First of all, the source of funding for the study was the Almond Board of California. Hence only almonds were included in the study, and those participating in the study were given a diet of 1.5 oz of almonds every day, as opposed to controls, who received muffins of similar calorific value.\u00a0 It was found that not only the LDL cholesterol \u2013 sometimes referred to as the \u2018bad cholesterol\u2019 \u2013 was reduced, but also overall cholesterol levels.\u00a0 Further, rather surprisingly, central adiposity \u2013 or fat in abdomen, leg fat, and waist circumference \u2013 was reduced in those taking the almond diet.<\/p>\n

Remember that high cholesterol levels, waist circumference and body mass index are some of the criteria used for determining the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes.\u00a0 In effect, the authors concluded that including almonds in your diet regularly could help reduce heart diseases as a whole.<\/p>\n

Almonds are good for health<\/strong><\/p>\n

Almonds are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as omega-3 and omega-6, which are considered to be good for health.\u00a0 Apart from this, they are also a rich source of fibres, manganese and are particularly high in vitamin E levels.\u00a0 Vitamin E has antioxidant properties, and prevents ageing and skin damage.\u00a0 Almonds therefore, it should come as no surprise, are an important part of the Mediterranean diet,<\/a> which has been known to improve heart health and longevity.<\/p>\n

Going back to the American study, apart from the fact that it received funding from the almond board, it is worth bearing in mind that the study was conducted on a predominantly Caucasian population, which makes generalising the findings to the Indian context difficult. How far the health benefits could be attributable only to almonds is also difficult to determine from the study findings.<\/p>\n

Alternative to almonds<\/strong><\/p>\n

Besides, 1.5 oz of almonds translates to 30-35 almonds per day, which may be a lot to consume, especially if you factor in the cost issue: a 500 g pack costs Rs 549.\u00a0 Is there an alternative to almonds? Yes; there are other nuts that could be equally nutritive with similar health benefits.\u00a0 Walnuts, macadamia nuts and hazelnuts could be worthy alternatives. If you are seeking something less expensive, then the good old groundnuts are also rich in nutrients and energy.<\/p>\n

The bottom line, once again, is to include almonds as part of a balanced diet, something which I had touched upon in my earlier article on heart health.<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Green Tea: Types, Benefits and Side Effects<\/a><\/p>\n

How to Prevent Hair Loss in 10 Tested Ways?<\/a><\/p>\n

Discover Which Type of Yoga Suits You?<\/a><\/p>\n

Natural Drinks and Foods for Liver Detoxification<\/a><\/p>\n

Cycling Your Way to Fitness<\/a><\/p>\n

Home Remedies to Stop the Signs of Ageing<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few days ago, several newspapers reported that consuming almonds would help reduce belly fat.\u00a0 Their reports were based on a study conducted by researchers from The Pennsylvania State University in the USA.\u00a0 The study findings were published in the Journal of American Heart Association this year. What is it with almonds that they could […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3532,"featured_media":39690,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11315],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-39656","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-india"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3532"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39656"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44918,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39656\/revisions\/44918"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}