The calorie counts shown on food labels are computed from how much heat can be produced by the food in a laboratory. However, this method of measuring calories is meaningless for foods that are poorly absorbed. The number of calories listed on the label can be much higher than those a person actually absorbs; many of the potential calories pass through, undigested, in the person’s stool. This explains why blood fat levels are lower than expected after a person eats nuts. Another study showed that roasting almonds does not increase the absorption of fat over that absorbed from raw almonds. Some of the fat that has passed through the upper intestines is absorbed after the nuts reach the colon, where bacteria ferment the cell walls to release some of the fat.
Nuts Appear to Be Healthful
Epidemiologic studies (on populations) associate eating nuts with reduced likelihood to suffer heart attacks, gallstones, diabetes, and cancer. Many studies show that eating nuts lowers high blood pressure, cholesterol, belly fat, and metabolic syndrome; and that nuts are not associated with gaining weight.Why Nuts Are More Healthful Than Muffins
The almond snack that was given to the study patients contained 30-35 almonds (1.5 ounces), with 240 calories, 20 grams of fat, (primarily monounsaturated) and 4.7 grams of fiber. The muffins contained the same number of calories, but had less fiber, less monounsaturated fat and far more sugar and starch.
A high rise in blood sugar can damage every cell in your body. Muffins are made from flour which causes a much higher rise in blood sugar than whole grains do. Whole grains have a thick capsule that prevents the rapid absorption of sugars and other carbohydrates into your bloodstream. Grains are full of carbohydrates which can be absorbed only as single sugars. When you grind a whole grain into a powder, you remove the capsule around the whole grain and markedly increase the absorption of sugar to cause a high rise in blood sugar. Fat’s location inside the cells of nuts reduces absorption of the fat in the same way that the thick outer capsule around whole (unground) grains reduces the absorption of sugar.