Almonds to the Rescue!

Delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is common in sedentary people who overdo it—the weekend warriors who catch up on all the yard work in one day or people who have to shovel out a long driveway after a big snow. Researchers wanted to test what benefits these occasional exercisers may get from eating almonds compared to a cereal bar.

Researchers recruited a group of sedentary volunteers between the ages of 30 and 65. They wanted to examine the effect of eating two ounces of almonds every day for four weeks on measures of pro-inflammatory hormones and oxylipins, which are oxidized fats that can have pro- or anti-inflammatory effects. The control group ate a cereal bar with the same caloric content.

After 28 days, all subjects performed a 90-minute workout session designed to damage muscle that included a bout of maximal aerobic exercise, weight training, jumping, and other activities. Did they damage their muscles? Absolutely, based on the blood levels of enzymes indicating DOMS as well as standardized questionnaires assessing pain after exercise. The subjects who ate almonds every day had more anti-inflammatory oxylipins after exercise while the controls had an increase in pro-inflammatory oxylipins. Most important, the almond eaters appeared to recover a little faster.

Almond skins are a treasure of phenolic compounds. While this was a small study (69 total subjects), there were benefits to eating almonds every day for non-exercising weekend warriors. Could other high-phenolic foods have the same benefit? Time will tell. Almonds are also a treasure trove of omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, and protein, so substituting almonds for some other snack may prove beneficial. How about you regular exercisers? I’m betting you’ll get some benefit as well. It’s all part of eating better.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: Front. Nutr. 9:1042719. doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.1042719