When my clients ask me to rank the healthiest nuts to add to their diet, I rate almonds at the very top. Almonds are a great addition to a whole foods diet for more than taste; a significant body of research has revealed the many benefits of almonds, including the ability to lower cholesterol and stave off the risk of diabetes. Even a single handful of almonds, eaten as a healthy snack food, provide key nutrients that can help maintain a healthy heart.

Spanish missionaries brought almonds to California in the mid-1700’s because they thought that they would grow well in California’s climate; they were right. This nut thrives in climates characterized by moist, mild winters and hot, dry summers such as those found in California, Italy, Spain, South Africa, and Australia. I often advise my clients to add almonds, and other great foods, like quinoa, miso, nutritional yeast, and flax seed oil into their diet. My new book The Best Natural Foods on the Market Today- A Yuppies Guide to Hippie Food, Vol. 1, explains how easy it is to incorporate these foods in a delicious way.

One of my all-time favorite foods is almond butter. It’s simply made by pressing raw or roasted almonds into a paste, like peanut butter. Like most Americans, I grew up eating peanut butter and have joked that apples, bananas and celery really are “peanut-butter-delivery-systems.” Many of my clients believe that almond butter, crunchy or smooth, is more delicious than peanut butter. Try an AB & J (almond butter and jelly) sandwich and see for yourself. If you’re looking for an amazingly healthy smoothie recipe that uses almonds, you can find a fantastic recipe in my book.

Almonds and almond butter are nutritional powerhouses that contain significant amounts of protein, calcium, fiber, magnesium, folic acid, potassium, and vitamin E. Almond butter has extremely low saturated fat content and is rich in monounsaturated fats making it a heart-healthy choice. Of course, almonds have no trans fat. Studies consistently have shown that the addition of almonds into the diet effectively lowers cholesterol. Unlike low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets, adding almonds does not adversely alter insulin sensitivity in healthy adults or blood sugar levels in patients with diabetes. 

Almonds are a good source of plant sterols, such as beta-sitosterol, which have been shown to alleviate symptoms of BPH (enlarged prostate), a condition afflicting the majority of men over age 50. Two tablespoons of almond butter contain roughly 35 milligrams of beta-sitosterol.

My new book, The Best Natural Foods on the Market Today provides excellent information on other great topics such as how to cook quinoa in quinoa recipes, what are the health benefits of omega 3 eggs, and the truth about free range chicken.