Almonds health benefits and nutrition facts

Information on Almonds

Almonds are fruits from the species of tree which comes fromthe family of rosaceae and the genus of prunus. The botanical name of the treeis prunus dulcis. It is a small deciduous tree which originates from the westregions of Asia. Nowadays it is cultivated in most parts of the world. The treebears the white or pink flowers which become fruits by autumn. Almond is asingle seed drupe, encloses in a hard shell. It is oval in shape, characterizedby a brown color, it may be up to 2 centimeters long and its weight may be upto 1.5 grams. Whole shelled almonds are always better than the processes ones.Almonds can be consumed in their raw form, they can be sweetened or salted aswell. They are also used for the preparation of milk and in numerous curry andrice dishes. Almond butter is a popular alternative to peanut butter. Almondsare also used for numerous different types of sweets such as sundaes, icecreams, cakes, biscuits and cookies.

Health benefits of Almonds

Almonds are an excellent source of numerous different typesof essential nutrients. They are very efficient in reducing the levels of badcholesterol in the blood, increasing the levels of good cholesterol in theblood, preventing the strokes and reducing the risk of the coronary arterydisease, due to its high content of palmitoleic acid and oleic acid. Theyprotect the body from the damage caused by free radicals because they are veryrich in vitamin E. It is also important to stress out that almonds do notcontain any gluten at all. They are an important source of riboflavin,selenium, niacin, zinc, thiamin, magnesium, pantothenic acid, iron, vitamin B6,calcium, folates, potassium and magnesium. Almond oil can be used for theprevention and treatment of numerous skin related medical conditions.

Nutritional Value of Almonds

A serving of 100 grams of fresh, raw almonds contains 575calories, 1 microgram of lutein-zeaxanthin, 21.67 grams of carbohydrates, 1microgram of beta carotene, 21.22 grams of proteins, 3.08 milligrams of zinc,49.42 grams of total fat, 2.5 micrograms of selenium, 12.2 grams of dietaryfiber, 484 milligrams of phosphorus, 50 micrograms of folates, 2.28 milligramsof manganese, 3.38 milligrams of niacin, 268 milligrams of magnesium, 0.47milligrams of pantothenic acid, 3.72 milligrams of iron, 0,14 milligrams ofpyridoxine, 0.996 milligrams of copper, 1.01 milligrams of riboflavin, 264milligrams of calcium, 0.21 milligrams of thiamin, 705 milligrams of potassium,1 Internation Unit of vitamin A, 1 milligram of sodium and 26 milligrams ofvitamin E. Almonds do not contain any cholesterol, vitamin C or betacrypto-xanthin.