Why Almonds Are A Perfect Exercise Food To Keep You Prime

Eat Almonds Daily for Exercise Recovery

Just two handfuls of almonds can go a long way – eat them daily to help recovery from exercise.

Initial research, funded by Almond Board of California, conducted for 4 weeks among 64 healthy U.S. adults ages 30-65 who are occasional exercisers, found that study participants who ate almonds experienced:

• Reduced fatigue, tension and muscle soreness during muscle recovery
• Increased leg and lower back strength
• Decreased muscle damage during the first day of recovery post-exercise

“What we found tells us definitively that almonds should be added to sports nutrition strategies to help people recover better from exercise,” says David C. Nieman, DrPH, FACSM, Professor and Principal Investigator, Human Performance Laboratory, Appalachian State University. “Almonds are food for fitness. Carbs get most of the attention when it comes to fueling for exercise, but almonds offer a nutrition package, including good unsaturated fats, the antioxidant vitamin E, and proanthocyanidins (a class of polyphenols that are protective compounds in plants) that help explain the beneficial outcomes in our study.” One serving of almonds (28g) has 13 g of good unsaturated fat and only 1 g of saturated fat. More research is needed to determine if the observed findings can be applied to the broader U.S. population.

An additional study found that eating almonds reduced some feelings of muscle soreness during exercise recovery which translated to improved muscle performance during a vertical jump challenge. In the research study², funded by the Almond Board of California, 25 mildly overweight middle-aged, occasionally active adults performed a 30-minute downhill treadmill run test after eight weeks of consuming 57 g (two ounces) of whole raw almonds daily. 

Study participants who ate almonds experienced an almost 25 percent reduction in muscle soreness when performing an explosive power exercise (a vertical jump challenge) over the cumulative 72-hour exercise recovery period. The perceived reduction in soreness translated to better muscle performance during the vertical jump challenge in the almond group versus the control.  The results are not generalizable to populations with other demographic and health characteristics

These results expand on prior research¹ which looked at how almonds affect muscle recovery after exercise.

Prime Time Never Ends

Eating almonds can pack a powerful punch into your exercise routine so you can own your prime. Be sure to stay tuned on our Instagram @californiaalmonds to be in the loop on all things Coach Prime and almonds! And don’t forget to check out the press release announcing the partnership here.