Eating Almonds, the Nuts Every Athlete Needs

Now more than ever, nuts are trending. They are delicious, nutritious, easy to carry anywhere, satisfying, with countless benefits for our bodies. They are essential in our diet! And almonds are one of the best options if you play sports.

With so much bombardment of tempting ultra-processed snacks full of sugar, salt, and other food additives, nuts remain and will continue to be the kings of healthy snacking. They are even incorporated into many recipes and main dishes to add even more nutritional quality and improve flavor.

Almonds, nuts with great potential

But today we are going to focus on one in particular: ALMONDS. Those small "pills" from Mother Nature, super-concentrated with nutrients, each more important than the last.

Benefits of almonds:

• High in protein. – nothing less than 20%, making them one of the nuts with the most protein.
• Quality carbohydrates. – They provide approximately 9.3%, which is not much, but the interesting thing is that they are slow-absorbing, with a very low glycemic index. That's why it's highly recommended for diabetics.
• Healthy fats. – their high content of quality fats helps reduce total cholesterol and LDL (bad cholesterol) levels.
• Abundant in calcium and other minerals. – Did you know that a 30-gram serving of almonds covers 9% of the daily calcium needs? (twice as much as milk by the same weight). Not only that, but that same 30-gram serving also provides:
  • 17% phosphorus
  • 15% of daily magnesium needs
  • 11% manganese
  • 10% iron
  • 4% zinc
• Powerful antioxidant. – and this is due to their very high content of vitamin E (63% of daily needs per 30g) and the high content of flavonoids like quercetin, which is a potent anti-inflammatory.
• And as the icing on the cake, for an almost perfect food (in my opinion), it is high in B vitamins, especially B2.

Include almonds in your menu

With all these excellent qualities, it is logical that ALMONDS are essential in an athlete's diet, helping them significantly improve sports performance due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory power, their quality carbohydrates, high protein level, healthy fats, and satisfying properties…

That's why many races include almonds in their aid stations, as they naturally promote performance during exercise.

Even during periods of training and preparation for ultra-running or marathon competitions, they are very useful because they help meet daily calorie, vitamin, and mineral requirements.

In short, for any sport you practice, almonds are a superfood. And on top of that, they couldn't be more delicious!

One of my favorite ways to eat almonds is undoubtedly in the form of ALMOND BUTTER, like Almond Butter.

Its smooth texture, its flavor… it's a delight to the palate!

And as a personal contribution, I'll tell you, many people like me don't feel so good with peanut butter. Does anyone else experience this? I love it, but I feel like I don't digest it as well… so almond butter is IDEAL for those of us with that little digestive problem. I guarantee it feels GREAT ON THE STOMACH.

Not only that, but as an energy booster and satiating food, it is unique. Nothing is more delicious than good toast with almond butter or spreading it on our morning oatmeal crepe. I wish it were tomorrow already so I could have breakfast again!

Another way I usually use almond butter and recommend in my nutritional programs is to INCORPORATE IT INTO THE SHAKE OF ISOLATE WHEY PROTEIN OR VEGAN PROTEIN. In addition to giving it a delicious touch, it completely curbs the appetite and provides energy for hours if we are going to have a tough workout or will be several hours without being able to eat.

HONESTLY… WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR TO INCLUDE IT IN YOUR DIET? LONG LIVE NUTS!