Eating Almonds Daily Boosts Recovery Molecule by 69pc, Aiding Recovery After Intense Exercise: Study

The researchers concluded that daily consumption of almonds led to a change in metabolism, downregulating inflammation and oxidative stress resulting from exercise and allowing the body to recover faster.

“We conclude that almonds provide a unique and complex blend of nutrients and polyphenols that may support metabolic recovery from stressful levels of exercise,” said corresponding author Dr. David C Nieman, a professor at North Carolina Research Campus. The results were published in Frontiers in Nutrition.

“Almonds contain high amounts of protein, healthy fats, vitamin E, minerals and fiber. And the brown skin of almonds contains polyphenols that end up in the large intestine and help control inflammation and oxidative stress,” Nieman said.

According to the study, a randomized controlled trial showed that female and male participants who ate 57g of almonds daily for one month had more beneficial fat 12,13-DiHOME (12,13-dihydroxy-9Z-acid octadecenoic acid) in their blood immediately. after a strenuous exercise session than control participants.

This molecule, called oxylipin, an oxidized fat, is synthesized from linoleic acid by brown adipose tissue and has a beneficial effect on metabolic health and energy regulation, according to the study.

“Here we show that volunteers who consumed 57g of almonds daily for a month before a single ‘weekend warrior’ exercise had more beneficial 12,13-DiHOME in their blood immediately after exercise. than the control volunteers.

“They also reported feeling less fatigue and tension, better back leg strength, and decreased muscle damage after exercise than control volunteers,” Nieman said.

Immediately after exercise, the concentration of the beneficial 12,13-DiHOME was 69% higher in the blood plasma of participants in the almond group than in participants in the control group.

“They also reported feeling less fatigue and tension, better back leg strength, and decreased muscle damage after exercise than control volunteers,” Nieman said. (Photo: Getty Images/Thinkstock)

12,13-DiHOME is known to increase fatty acid transport and uptake by skeletal muscle, with the overall effect of boosting metabolic recovery after exercise.

The reverse pattern was found for another oxylipin, mildly toxic 9,10-dihydroxy-12-octadecenoic acid (9,10-diHOME), which was 40% higher immediately after exercise in the blood of the control group than in the almond tree. band.

Unlike 12,13-DiHOME, 9,10-diHOME has been shown to have negative effects on overall health and body recovery after exercise.

According to the research, the clinical trial involved 38 men and 26 women between the ages of 30 and 65, who did not exercise regularly. About half were randomized to the almond diet group and the other half to the control group, which ate an assorted-calorie cereal bar daily.

The researchers took blood and urine samples before and after the four-week period of dietary supplementation. Performance measures included a 30-second anaerobic Wingate test, a 50-meter shuttle run test, and vertical jump, bench press and rear leg strength exercises, according to the study.

Additional blood and urine samples were taken immediately after this 90-minute “eccentric exercise” session and daily for four days afterwards, according to the study.

After each blood draw, participants completed the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire to quantify their mental state and rated their delayed-onset muscle soreness – that is, the pain and stiffness experienced after unusual or strenuous exercise — on a 10-interval scale, according to the study.

As expected, the 90-minute exercise resulted in an increase in the volunteers’ self-reported feeling of muscle damage and muscle soreness, as well as an increase in the POMS score, indicating a decrease in self-reported vigor and an increase in fatigue. , anxiety and depression. says the study.

Exercise also resulted in transiently elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and MCP-1 in the blood consistent with minor muscle damage.

However, these changes in cytokines were equal in the almond and cereal bar groups, according to the study.

For those who exercise regularly, eating almonds every day could be the perfect New Year’s resolution.

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