Here’s Why: You Should Be Eating Almond and Drinking Almond Milk

Many East Africans consume peanuts and cashew nuts as the preferred choice of nuts. This is because peanut butter and crushed peanuts have been part of many culinary recipes in East Africa and Africa as a whole. Despite this, other types of nuts are becoming popular additions to local diets and some include almonds, macadamia, pine, sunflower, and pistachio. We list why almonds are very beneficial to ones health and also list the various ways of accessing these benefits.

Almond Seeds

1 ounce or 28 grams of almond nuts have the following nutrients:

1. Fiber: Great for digestion and cleanses the colon if consumed with adequate hydration
2. Protein: Purely plant based protein. Great for building muscles and feeling full for prolonged periods
3. Healthy fat: Fat is necessary for the endocrine system, joints, breast health, and brain health
4. Vitamin E: An antioxidant, helping to protect cells from the damage caused by free radicals
5. Manganese: Helps build sex hormones. Manganese is also necessary for normal brain and nerve function.
6. Magnesium: Necessary for bone-building and also improves functions of nerves
7. Copper: Keeps blood cells and immune system healthy
8. Vitamin B2: Useful for energy production and is a great vitamin for anti-aging
9. Phosphorus: Naturally balances hormones

Almond Milk

It would be strange to see a calf or a kid-goat drink milk from a human mother. We encourage you to explore dairy-free options of milk such as hemp milk, and almond milk. Though you should avoid Soy milk due to many listed dangers of consuming it and we will highlight these factors in a different article.

Almond milk is produced from the nuts and is rich in essential nutrients which provides many health benefits listed below:

1. Heart health: Being plant based, it is free from saturated fats and cholesterol.
2. Weightloss: Contains the least calories compared to any other milk. Manganese and Vitamin B12 enhance metabolism.
3. Cancer prevention: A study conducted in Nutrition and Cancer, also showed that cow milk stimulates growth of prostate cancer cells, while almond milk suppresses the growth by 30%. This shows that almond milk can help protect one from different forms of cancer.

You can incorporate almond milk into your diet by using it to bake, adding it to your smoothies, coffee and tea, or even just by drinking it.

Almond Oil

Cooking

Almond oil has low cholesterol compared to other oils and is rich in omega-3, making it a healthier alternative to use in cooking. Due to this, it also promotes better heart health. Almond has a high smoking point making it suited for cooking at higher temperatures compared to Olive oil. You could also use this oil to bake and in searing.

Skin and Hair Care

Almond oil is very light in texture, and can easily penetrate the skin. This allows you to use it as a cleanser, as it softens the skin and removes all the dirt without clogging the pores. Almond oil contains antioxidants and is also rich in vitamin E which helps promote radiant and healthy skin. Being rich in magnesium and calcium, almond oil also helps in hair growth.