Summary: Adding 57g of almonds to the diet daily for a month increases levels of 12,13-DiHOME, the beneficial fat in blood samples immediately after an intense exercise session.
Source: limits
For those who exercise regularly, eating almonds every day can be an ideal New Year’s resolution.
a randomized controlled trial Limits in Nutrition showed that male and female participants who ate 57g of almonds daily for one month had more beneficial fat 12,13-dihydroxy-9Z-octadecenoic acid (12,13-DiHOME) in their blood immediately after an intense exercise session than control participants. .
This molecule, called oxylipin (oxidized fat), is synthesized from linoleic acid by brown adipose tissue and has a beneficial effect on metabolic health and energy regulation.
D., who is professor and director of the Appalachian State University Human Performance Laboratory on the North Carolina Research Campus. exercise bouts had more beneficial 12,13-DiHOME in their blood immediately after exercise than control volunteers. They also reported feeling less fatigue and tension, better leg-back strength, and reduced muscle damage after exercise than control volunteers.”
Four-week dietary supplement with almonds
The clinical trial involved 38 men and 26 women aged 30 to 65 who did not do regular weight training. About half were randomized to the almond diet group, and the other half to the control group, who ate a calorie-matched cereal bar every day. The researchers took blood and urine samples before and after the four-week supplementation period.
Performance measures included a 30-second Wingate anaerobic test, a 50-meter shuttle run test, and vertical jump, bench press, and leg-back strength exercises. Additional blood and urine samples were taken immediately after this 90-minute ‘eccentric exercise’ session and daily for four days thereafter.
After each blood draw, participants completed a ‘Mood State Profile’ (POMS) questionnaire to measure their mental state and rated their delayed-onset muscle soreness – that is, pain and stiffness felt after unusual or strenuous exercise – out of 10. -interval scale.
As expected, 90 minutes of exercise led to an increase in the volunteers’ self-reported sensation of muscle damage and muscle pain, as well as an increased POMS score;
Exercise also caused transient elevations of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and MCP-1 in the blood, consistent with minor muscle damage. However, these changes in cytokines were equal in the almond and cereal bar groups.
Differences in the two DiHOME concentrations
More importantly, immediately after exercise, participants in the almond group had 69% higher concentrations of beneficial 12,13-DiHOME in their blood plasma than participants in the control group. 12,13-DiHOME is known to increase fatty acid transport and uptake by skeletal muscle with the overall effect of stimulating metabolic recovery after exercise.
An inverse pattern was found for another oxylipin, the mildly toxic 9,10-Dihydroxy-12-octadecenoic acid (9,10-diHOME), and it was 40% higher in the blood of the control group than the almond group immediately after exercise. . Unlike 12,13-DiHOME, 9,10-diHOME has been shown to have adverse effects on general health and the body’s recovery for exercise.
Polyphenols in almond bark may be key
Nieman and colleagues concluded that daily consumption of almonds leads to a change in metabolism, reduces inflammation and oxidative stress from exercise, and allows the body to recover faster.
“We concluded that almonds provide a unique and complex blend of nutrients and polyphenols that can support metabolic recovery from stressful levels of exercise. Almonds contain high amounts of protein, healthy types of fat, vitamin E, minerals and fiber. It contains polyphenols that help control stress,” said Nieman.
The authors declare that the research was conducted without any commercial or financial relationship that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Financing: Funded by the Almond Board of California, Modesto, CA. The funder has no role in study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, preparation of the manuscript, or decision to submit the article for publication.
About this diet and exercise research news
Writer: Mischa Dijkstra
Source: limits
Contact: Mischa Dijkstra – Borders
Picture: Image is in the public domain
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Original research: Open Access.
David Nieman et al. Limits in Nutrition
Abstract
Almond Intake Modifies Acute Plasma Dihydroxy-Octadecenoic Acid (DiHOME) Response to Eccentric Exercise
This research determined whether 4 weeks of nutrient-dense almond intake reduced post-exercise inflammation and muscle soreness and damage. 90 minutes of acute eccentric exercise (90-EE) was used to induce muscle damage in 64 non-obese adults (ages 30-65, BMI <30 kg/m2) who did not receive regular resistance training.
Using a parallel group design, participants were randomized to almond (AL) (57 g/day) or cereal bar (CB) (calorie-matched) treatment groups for a period of 4 weeks prior to 90-EE (17 exercises).
Blood and 24-hour urine samples were collected before and after supplementation, additional blood samples were collected immediately after 90-EE and daily for an additional 4 recovery days thereafter. Changes in plasma oxylipins, urinary gut-derived phenolics, plasma cytokines, muscle injury biomarkers, mood states, and exercise performance were evaluated.
The 90-EE protocol induced significant muscle damage, delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS), inflammation, decreased strength and power performance, and mood disturbance. Interaction effects (2 groups x 7 time points) supported that AL versus CB was associated with reduced fatigue and tension after exercise (p=0.051, 0.033, respectively) and higher leg-back strength (p=0.029). No group differences were found for post-90-EE increases in DOMS and six cytokines. AL was associated with lower serum creatine kinase levels immediately after exercise and 1 day after exercise (p=0.034 and 0.013, respectively).
A 90-EE seizure elevated plasma levels for 13 oxylipins immediately after exercise. Interaction effects revealed significantly higher levels of AL vs. CB for 12,13-DiHOME (p<0.001) and lower levels for 9,10-DiHOME (p<0.001). Urinary levels increased in AL versus CB for seven gut-derived phenolics, including 5-(3',4'-dihydroxyphenyl)-γ-valerolactone, which was inversely associated with changes in plasma 9,10-DiHOME (r=- 0.029, p = 0.021).
These data support some of the positive effects of almond intake in improving mood, maintaining strength, reducing muscle damage, increasing the production of gut-derived phenolic metabolites, and altering plasma oxylipin DiHOME response to untrained eccentric exercise in untrained adults.
Increased plasma levels of 12,13-DiHOME after exercise with almond intake support positive metabolic outcomes for adults participating in unusual eccentric bouts of exercise.
