Snacking on Almonds Lowers Glycaemia and Energy Intake Compared to a Popular High-Carbohydrate Snack Food: An Acute Randomised Crossover Study

Abstract

Consuming nuts may have advantages over other snack foods for health and body-weight regulation. Suggested mechanisms include increased satiety and lower glycaemia. We used an acute randomised crossover trial to assess glycaemic and appetite responses to consuming two isocaloric snacks (providing 10% of participants’ total energy requirements or 1030 kJ (equivalent to 42.5 g almonds), whichever provided greater energy): raw almonds and sweet biscuits among 100 participants with available data (25 males and 75 females) following 106 being randomised. Two hours after consuming a standardised breakfast, participants consumed the snack food. Finger-prick blood samples measuring blood glucose and subjective appetite ratings using visual analogue scales were taken at baseline and at 15 or 30 min intervals after consumption. Two hours after snack consumption, an ad libitum lunch was offered to participants and consumption was recorded. Participants also recorded food intake for the remainder of the day. The mean area under the blood glucose response curve was statistically and practically significantly lower for almonds than biscuits (mean (95% CI) difference: 53 mmol/L.min (45, 61), p < 0.001). Only the composite appetite score at 90 min was higher in the almond treatment compared to the biscuit treatment (45.7 mm vs. 42.4 mm, p = 0.035 without adjustment for multiple comparisons). There was no evidence of differences between the snacks for all other appetite ratings or for energy intake at the ad libitum lunch. However, mean energy intakes following snack consumption were significantly lower, both statistically and in practical terms, for the almond treatment compared to the biscuit (mean (95% CI) diff: 638 kJ (44, 1233), p = 0.035). Replacing popular snacks with almonds may have advantages in terms of glycaemia and energy balance.

The Effects of Tree Nut and Peanut Consumption on Energy Compensation and Energy Expenditure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…After the removal of duplicate articles and excluded studies, 24 articles were identified as eligible. An additional 4 articles were identified after forward and backward citation searching, bringing the total number of articles included in this review to 28, derived from 27 studies [ 18 , 19 , 22 , 24 , 25 , [36] , [37] , [38] , [39] , [40] , [41] , [42] , [43] , [44] , [45] , [46] , [47] , [48] , [49] , [50] , [51] , [52] , [53] , [54] , [55] , [56] , [57] , [58] ]. Figure 1 shows the study selection process.…”

“…Of note, 2 studies [ 38 , 59 ] were excluded as they measured EE through methods other than indirect calorimetry: in this case, by estimating EE using physical activity records. There were 16 studies that reported energy compensation [ 18 , 38 , [40] , [41] , [42] , [43] , [45] , [46] , [47] , [48] , [50] , [51] , [52] , [53] , [54] , [55] ], 10 studies that reported EE [ 19 , 22 , 24 , 25 , 39 , 44 , 49 , [56] , [57] , [58] ], and 1 study (2 articles) that investigated both [ 36 , 37 ]. TABLE 1 , TABLE 2 present the characteristics of the energy compensation studies and EE studies, respectively.…”

“…[ 38 ]; Australia RCT (crossover) Healthy adults with overweight or obesity; 30 (M) and 31 (F); 62 (M) and 61 (F) 24 (54% M, 46% F) Participants provided with snack (15%–20% of daily energy intake): unsalted potato crisps (M: 90 g, F: 60 g) Participants provided with snack (15%–20% of daily energy intake): high-oleic peanuts or regular peanuts 1: High-oleic peanuts (roasted unsalted) 180 min Buffet meal contained preweighed food and beverages to calculate energy intake Positive 2: Regular peanuts (roasted unsalted) 84 g (M) and 56 g (F) Brown et al. [ 40 ]; New Zealand RCT (crossover) Healthy; 23.1; median age 29 100 (25% M, 75% F) Standard breakfast (muesli, yogurt, milk) providing ∼20% of energy requirements. Snack of sweet biscuits consumed 2 h after breakfast Standard breakfast providing ∼20% of energy requirements.…”

Nuts in the Prevention and Management of Type 2 Diabetes

“…In healthy individuals, the consumption of almonds with white bread was shown to significantly lower the postprandial area under the insulin concentration vs. time curve when compared to a high GI meal (instant mashed potatoes) (n = 15) [ 41 ] and significantly lower the glucose peak height when compared with white bread (n = 9) [ 27 ]. In another acute randomized crossover trial conducted in healthy participants (n = 100 with available data, n = 106 randomized), consumption of at least 10% of energy from raw almonds resulted in the mean area under the blood glucose response curve being significantly lowered when compared to consumption of biscuits [ 28 ]. Similar findings were shown for individuals at higher risk of diabetes.…”

Acute feeding with almonds compared to a carbohydrate-based snack improves appetite-regulating hormones with no effect on self-reported appetite sensations: a randomised controlled trial

“…Short-term, acute/early phase satiety responses were measured over a 2-h period. Brown et al demonstrated that reduced energy intake occurred over 24 h and appetite effects may therefore need to be measured over a longer period [56]. In addition, future studies might consider standardising the evening meal and exercise the day before testing.…”