A new study involving people who exercise occasionally (less than three times per week) demonstrated that snacking on almonds reduced feelings of fatigue and tension, increased leg and lower back strength during recovery, and decreased muscle damage during the first day of recovery.
David C. Nieman, DrPH, FACSM, Professor and Principal Investigator, Human Performance Laboratory, Appalachian State University, led thisnovel research, supported with funding from the Almond Board of California. Dr. Nieman’s team wanted to see if an almond snack compared to a high-carbohydrate cereal bar snack would improve inflammation and recovery in adults engaging in 90-minute exercise sessions.
Researchers studied 64 healthy adults with an average age of 46 years who ate 57g (2 ounces) of almonds a day for 4 weeks and did 17 different eccentric exercise bouts. Researchers assessed changes in plasma oxylipins, which are bioactive lipids involved in the post-exercise inflammation response, and urinary gut-derived (from the large intestine) phenolics (antioxidants from plants).Dr. Nieman explained “What we found tells us definitively that almonds should be added to sports nutrition strategies to help people recover better from exercise”.