Lower LDL-Cholesterol and reduce your risk of Heart Disease
A high-fat food that’s good for your health. Almonds are high in monounsaturated fats, the same type of health-promoting fats as are found in olive oil, it was found that nut consumption is linked to a lower risk for heart disease. And even more impressive risk reduction when fat from nuts was substituted for saturated fats .
When Almonds are combined in a healthy way of eating, the beneficial effects are additive. Almonds and other nuts, plant sterols (also found in nuts), soy protein, and soluble fiber (in high amounts in beans, oats, pears) reduced blood levels of all LDL fractions including small dense LDL (the type that most increases risk for cardiovascular disease) with near maximal reductions seen after only 2 weeks.
In addition to their cholesterol-lowering effects, almonds’ ability to reduce heart disease risk may also be partly due to the antioxidant action of the Vitamin E found in the almonds, as well as the lDL- lowering effect of almonds’ monounsaturated fats. (LDL is the form of cholesterol that has been linked to atherosclerosis and heart disease) When almonds are substituted for more traditional fats in human feeding trails, LDL cholesterol can be reduced from 8 to 12%
