Replacing unhealthy snacks with almonds may be good for your health, research says

BOSTON - A new study finds replacing unhealthy snacks with almonds may be good for your health without expanding your waistline.

Almonds are packed with tons of nutrients but many fear that eating too many will lead to weight gain. A team of researchers in New Zealand randomly assigned 136 non-obese people to receive the same caloric amount of almonds or cookies every day for one year. 

There were no significant differences in body weight between the groups yet the almond snackers consumed more daily protein, good fat, fiber, and minerals, and vitamins and consumed less carbohydrates and sugar than the cookie group. They concluded that almonds can be incorporated into the diets of snackers to improve diet quality without causing weight gain. 

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• Health

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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