Scientists have discovered that eating just five almonds a day can boost your exercise and help you burn more fat during a workout.
If you've started the new year on a high with a brand new exercise and diet regime, it may be worth adding in a couple of almonds here and there, as they've been found to create more 'beneficial fat' in your body after exercise.
Researchers from Appalachian State University in Kannapolis showed that those who ate 57 grams of almonds every day had a major metabolic boost after an intense workout no matter their gender.
The study, which was published in the Frontiers in Nutrition journal, confirmed that snacking on the nut each day led to changes in a person's metabolism, eased inflammation and stress, and allowed the body to recover from exercise faster.
They were also less tense and tired, had more strength in their legs, and experienced less muscle damage to those who didn't eat any almonds in the experiment.
The beneficial fat molecule, known as 12, 13-dihydroxy, or 12,13-DiHOME, affects metabolism and energy regulation in a positive way while being created from linoleic acid by brown fat tissue.
Those who ate almonds during the study had 69 percent more of the fat molecule in their blood plasma versus the control group. This led to faster metabolic recovery after exercise.
As well as this, the almond-eaters also had 40 percent less of another, mildly toxic oxylipin which was shown to negatively affect health and the body’s recovery post-workout.
Dr David Nieman, an author of the study and a professor and director of the Appalachian State University Human Performance Laboratory at the North Carolina Research Campus, said: "Here we show that volunteers who consumed 57g of almonds daily for one month before a single ‘weekend warrior’ exercise bout had more beneficial 12,13-DiHOME in their blood immediately after exercising than control volunteers.
"They also reported feeling less fatigue and tension, better leg-back strength, and decreased muscle damage after exercise than control volunteers. We conclude that almonds provide a unique and complex nutrient and polyphenol mixture that may support metabolic recovery from stressful levels of exercise.
"Almonds have high amounts of protein, healthy types of fats, vitamin E, minerals, and fibre. And the brown skin of almonds contains polyphenols that end up in the large intestine and help control inflammation and oxidative stress."
Taking part in the trial were 38 men and 26 women aged 30 to 65, none of whom did regular weight training. Around half ate the almonds, the others ate a calorie-matched cereal bar.
Researchers took blood and urine samples before and after the month-long trial period. Participants were also required to do performance measures including a 30 second Wingate anaerobic test, where they had to cycle at full-capacity for 30 seconds, a 50 metre shuttle run test, a vertical jump, bench press, and leg-back strength exercises.
Samples were taken again immediately after the 90 minute sessions of exercise and for the four days afterwards.
After each workout and blood test the participants ranked how sore and stiff they felt from one to 10 and filled a "Profile of Mood States" questionnaire to measure their mental state.
The 90-minute exercise session led volunteers to report muscle damage and soreness, decreased vigour, and increased fatigue, anxiety and depression.
In addition to the discoveries on fat-burning, the scientists found going to the gym elevated the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the blood, indicating minor muscle damage. However, these results stayed the same for both the almond and cereal bar groups.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - sign up to our daily newsletter here.
