In this day of hard economic times, being able to find the most nutritious food without selling your whole arm is very essential to our survival. It is also very tricky. Several months ago, times got so hard for me that I limited myself to merely one full meal a day. For a while, times got so hard I couldn't even afford that. I attempted to fill the void with peanuts, only to find that I had developed allergic reactions to them. My next move was to return to eating unsalted, dry-roasted, in-shell pistachios, which I had discovered about fifteen years earlier. Soon, I started receiving allergic reactions from them as well. On top of that, many times I found dead worms stuck in the shell. Since I had always enjoyed eating pistachios at night, I began to wonder if I had ever inadvertently eaten some of those worms (a gross thought I know). However, I was still hooked on those delicious pistachios. In a twist of fate, I anxiously entered one of my favorite "low-budget survival stores" - Trader Joe's, looking routinely for my pistachios only to find that they were out of stock. Since I was very low on money and had an intense desire for nuts, I grabbed the "dry-roasted, unsalted" bag of almonds. To my surprise, they were incredibly delicious. Still dealing with my hard times while waiting for a couple of checks to come in, I was forced to live a whole week on almonds alone. Astoundingly, I was able to do so without too much trouble. I still maintained an ample amount of energy and I didn't lose too much weight. This made me very curious as to how these small, delicious nuts could maintain me so well. After doing extensive research, I discovered that almonds are perhaps the most abundantly vitamin and mineral-rich nuts in the world. As a matter of fact, according to my research, dry roasted almonds usually either match or supersede other foods in the nutrition department per 100 grams, which is less than 0.75 cup. The following nutritional data is derived from http://www.nutritiondata.com/:
Vitamin E - Almonds (26.0 mg), Whole Milk (0.1 mg), Beef (0.4 mg), Fish (0.9 mg)
Riboflavin - Almonds (0.9 mg), Whole Milk (0.2 mg), Beef (0.1 mg), Fish (0.0 mg)
Folate - Almonds (33.0 mcg), Whole Milk (12.0 mcg), Beef (9.0 mcg), Fish (2.0 mcg)
Calcium - Almonds (266 mg), Whole Milk (207 mg), Beef (22.0 mg), Fish (14.0 mg)
Iron - Almonds (4.5 mg), Whole Milk (0.4 mg), Beef (1.9 mg), Fish (1.0 mg)
Magnesium - Almonds (286 mg), Whole Milk (11.0 mg), Beef (25.0 mg), Fish (33.0 mg)
Phosphorus - Almonds (489 mg), Whole Milk (158 mg), Beef (229 mg), Fish (217 mg)
Potassium - Almonds (746 mg), Whole Milk (105 mg), Beef (368 mg), Fish (237 mg)
Copper - Almonds (1.2 mg), Whole Milk (0.0 mg), Beef (0.1 mg), Fish (0.0 mg)
Manganese - Almonds (2.6 mg), Whole Milk (0.0 mg), Beef (0.0 mg), Fish (0.0 mg)
Cholesterol - Almonds (0.0 mg), Whole Milk (51.0 mg), Beef (73.0 mg), Fish (42.0)
Omega 6 - Almonds (12,648 mg), Whole Milk (273 mg), Beef (264 mg), Fish (55.0 mg)
Monounsaturated Fats - Almonds (33.7 mg), Whole Milk (3.6 g), Beef (4.0 g), Fish (0.8 g)
Polyunsaturated Fats - Almonds (12.7 g), Whole Milk (0.4 g), Beef (0.4 g), Fish (1.1 g)
Protein - Almonds (22.1 g), Whole Milk (11.3 g), Beef (29.3 g), Fish (23.6 g)
As you can see, almonds dominate in the minerals calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and manganese. In some cases, such as with vitamins E, riboflavin, and folate, and with the minerals magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and manganese, the amount of nutrients in almonds more than double those in milk, beef, and fish. The disparity between almonds and the other food sources with the fatty acid omega-6 is astronomical.
Let us take a look at the health benefits of the nutrients that almonds clearly lead the field in. According to the health-oriented website The World's Healthiest Foods (http://www.whfoods.com/), vitamin E, monounsaturated fats, calcium, magnesium and potassium are essential for protection against cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Potassium protects against high blood pressure and atherosclerosis and, along with calcium, is very important for proper heart function. It is common knowledge that calcium is necessary to maintain strong bones, while magnesium opens up the arteries and veins, allowing calcium as well as oxygen and other nutrients to flow freely throughout the body. Manganese and copper contain the oxidative enzyme superoxide dismutase which neutralizes the free radicals produced within our cells' energy generator, the mitochondria. I have even heard that copper can help our hair from graying prematurely. Almonds are also close on the heels of beef and fish in the protein department. No wonder I was able to survive a whole week on almonds alone. Just think, all of these benefits in what I consider at this time to be the most delicious nuts on the planet, AND THE PRICE IS RIGHT!
Let us take a look at the health benefits of the nutrients that almonds clearly lead the field in. According to the health-oriented website The World's Healthiest Foods (http://www.whfoods.com/), vitamin E, monounsaturated fats, calcium, magnesium and potassium are essential for protection against cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Potassium protects against high blood pressure and atherosclerosis and, along with calcium, is very important for proper heart function. It is common knowledge that calcium is necessary to maintain strong bones, while magnesium opens up the arteries and veins, allowing calcium as well as oxygen and other nutrients to flow freely throughout the body. Manganese and copper contain the oxidative enzyme superoxide dismutase which neutralizes the free radicals produced within our cells' energy generator, the mitochondria. I have even heard that copper can help our hair from graying prematurely. Almonds are also close on the heels of beef and fish in the protein department. No wonder I was able to survive a whole week on almonds alone. Just think, all of these benefits in what I consider at this time to be the most delicious nuts on the planet, AND THE PRICE IS RIGHT!
