Have you heard of the benefits of including Almonds or Badam in your daily diet?

Almond is a highly nutritious nut, packed with essential components required for a healthy life.

Almonds are normally taken in a raw form, but it is also used as an ingredient in many of the food items like salads, casseroles and many other dishes. In some of the Asian countries like Iran, India and Pakistan, almonds are known by another name called ‘badam’. Almonds or badam is rich in nutritional contents like calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, iron and vitamin E. As per many of the studies, a handful of almonds a day can promote better heart health and prevents weight gain. It can also play a major role in the fight against the diseases like Alzheimer’s and diabetes. It is advisable to take raw badam nuts on an empty stomach so that the nutritional benefits of the nut will be absorbed by the body in a better and faster manner.

The outer covering of badam fruits has a thick, leathery and a grey-green coating called hull. Inside the hull, there exist an edible seed known as ‘nut’. Usually, there exist a single seed inside the hull, but sometimes the hull contains two seeds. Almonds are readily available in two main categories, the one which has a sweet taste and the other with a bitter taste.

Badam with a sweet taste is used for edible purposes and the other with the bitter taste is used for making oil, a common oil that is used as a flavouring agent. Badam is also used for making a delicious beverage called badam milk or almond milk. Badam milk is known for its nutritious benefits as well as a sweet and delicious flavour. Let’s have a look at some of the beneficial qualities of having almonds or badams in our diet.

Strengthens your immune system

Alkali components are required by our body to have a positive effect on our immune system. As per many of the famous nutritionist, almonds or badams are one of the natural source of alkali materials. Thus, the intake of almond nuts would strengthen your immune system and increases the ability to fend off various diseases and health conditions. Also, the powerful antioxidant component vitamin E, present in almonds could play a significant role in strengthening our immune system. Its presence would be helpful in eliminating the free radical presence in our body. The presence of free radicals in our body can be hazardous to our body organs and can contribute to the cause of chronic diseases. Thus, the intake of foods rich in vitamin E can have an effect against heart diseases and cancer.

Helps in maintaining a healthy heart

The nutritional presence in almonds can play a significant role in maintaining a healthy heart. Mono-unsaturated fats, vitamins and proteins in badam will be essential for the better functioning of the cardiovascular system. The presence of magnesium will have a say in preventing the heart attacks and the antioxidants available in the form of vitamin E can have an influence in reducing the heart diseases. C-reactive proteins in our body can have some adverse effects like artery-damaging inflammation. The inclusion of badam seeds in our diet can be helpful in reducing the presence and impact of C-reactive proteins in our body. Folic acid presence in almonds is responsible for the reduction of homocysteine, which is considered as the cause for fatty plaque buildup in arteries.

Regulates blood pressure

Almonds or badam is known for its nutritional abundance. The potassium presence in badam helps in regulating the blood pressure and low sodium content would help to control the fluctuating blood pressure. For a healthy life, it requires the intake of sufficient quantities of essential nutrients. Having almonds or badam in our daily diet would take care of some of the nutritional deficiencies. As you all know high fluctuation of blood pressure has a serious role in causing heart attacks and strokes. So with the intake of sufficient quantity of badam we could make a positive impact on the blood pressure conditions.

Aids in preventing constipation

Rich fibre content in badam or almond will have a positive effect in preventing constipation. It’s also advisable to drink sufficient quantities of water along with almond for its smooth digestion and nutrient absorption. The intake of 4-5 almond seeds can have a surprising effect in regular bowel movements and reducing constipation.