First cultivated in ancient Greece, almonds were baked into exclusive breads that were only served to Pharaohs, and the early Romans showered brides and grooms with almonds as a fertility blessing.
Even today, the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine uses almonds for its baby formula base, because, when compared to other seeds and nuts, almond protein is the closest to the protein in human breast milk.
Of all the tree nuts, almonds are by far the most nutrient dense, i.e. they offer the most nutrition per calorie. They’re a very good source of protein, as well as vitamin E and the essential minerals calcium, magnesium and potassium.
Almonds do not contain sodium or cholesterol, and although 20 to 25 almonds (one ounce) provide 14 grams of fat, only one gram of that is saturated fat. The rest is healthy monounsaturated fat. That means you can enjoy your almonds without worry about them going straight to your hips!
Like most nut butters, however, almond butter is calorie dense and should be enjoyed in moderation if you're counting calories. Thankfully, almond butter will fill you up quickly and leave you feeling satisfied due to it's high fiber content. Naturally Nutty organic almond butter is made with whole almonds (including the skins) for the extra fiber benefits. And because almond butter is also packed with protein and healthy oils high in essential fatty acids, it's also a great source of sustained energy.
The healthy monounsaturated oils in almonds and almond butter may help regulate blood cholesterol levels by lowering bad (LDL) cholesterol and raising good (HDL) cholesterol, while at the same time decreasing total cholesterol levels. And, these healthy almond oils have also been found to help reduce both blood pressure and blood sugar levels, which both aid in the prevention of heart disease possibly even diabetes.
Almonds are also high in anti-aging antioxidants like vitamin E. Doesn't it feel good to know that you can enjoy the yummy goodness of almond butter while also supplying your body with the best in whole food nutrition? This is the ultimate in "have your cake and eat it too!"
The "health nuts" here at Naturally Nutty would be happy to tell you more about why we love almond butter and why we only use fresh, organic almonds from California in all of our almond butter products. We designed our Organic Almond, Organic Vanilla Almond and Organic Cinnamon Vanilla Almond butters with our own family in mind and are thrilled to be able to offer them to you too. So join our family and give our nut butters a try. You'll be glad you did.