Almonds For Digestive Health

In my research on the effects of probiotics, their use and how to choose which ones for what aliment, I also stumbled upon the lesser known term 'prebiotic'.

First lets make sure we know what probiotics are and what they do. Probiotics, called lactic acid bateria, are living organisms living naturally in milk and on the surfaces of grains, vegetables, and fruits. While fermentation takes place,lactic acid is produced, keeping the bacteria responsible for spoilage from working. It is also the lactic acid bateria which gives fermented foods that tart flavor. Foods such as plain yogurt, kefir, kim che, sourkraut, miso and tempeh. As food ferments, probiotic bacteria proliferate, so when we eat foods that contain live probiotics, we're delivering an army to our digestive tract, friendly bacteria that will do battle against harmful microbes and boost our immune system.

Prebiotics create a source of compounds that make the digestive tract more hospitable to probiotic microbes. These 'friendly' microbes thrive on prebiotics, feeding them, others slow down the microbes they compete against for survival, while ohters act like selective antibiotics, inhibiting the growth of particular microbes. The main sources come from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Prebiotics also are found in certain fats, tea, herbs and spices, red wine, and dark chocolate. But the best prebiotic is dietary fiber. Recently published work by the Institute of Food Research has identified potential prebiotic properties of almonds that could help improve our digestive health by increasing levels of beneficial gut bacteria.


Raw almonds being high in fiber, are also high in vitamin A, vitamin E, folic acid, calcium, iron, potassium and zinc. The beneficial bacteria use the almond lipid for growth, and this is the basis for the prebiotic effect of almonds. Listen to your mother (or your natural health care practiioner) and chew your food, as previous studies have shown that the amount of available lipid is reduced if the almonds are not processed, for example by grinding or by chewing thourouly.