Researchers have found that adding almonds to ones diet can decrease the levels of biomarkers for oxidative stress, lending more evidence to the antioxidant effect of the tree nut.
The study, conducted on 27 men and women with elevated cholesterol, found that those who ate a “full dose” (2.5 ounces) of almonds reduced their plasma malondialdehyde, a biomarker of oxidative stress, by 19 percent. Meanwhile, the level of isoprostane dropped by 27 percent in those who ate a “full” or “half dose.”
The study did not specify a minimum amount of the nut that will show antioxidant effects.
The benefits of almonds have been touted for some time but more research is needed to show the effects of vitamin E and flavonoids found in almonds.
A 2005 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that adding almonds to a diet of foods like soy, viscous fiber and plant sterols can reduce cholesterol levels as much as first-generation statin drugs.
Antioxidants, found in numerous nutritional health supplements, have been shown to have various positive effects including a slowing of the aging process and neutralizing free radicals, which may slow or prevent cancer.