Before asking: Where to buy almond flour ? Read This First
Why Almond Flour Is Better Than Most Other Flours
Almond flour is a popular alternative to traditional wheat flour. It’s low in carbs, packed with nutrients and has a slightly sweeter taste. Almond flour may also provide more health benefits than traditional wheat flour, such as reducing “bad” LDL cholesterol and insulin resistance. This article explores the health benefits of almond flour and whether it’s a better alternative to other types of flour.
Almond flour is made from ground almonds. The process involves blanching almonds in boiling water to remove the skins, then grinding and sifting them into a fine flour. Almond flour is not the same as almond meal, despite the fact that their names are sometimes used interchangeably. Almond meal is made by grinding almonds with their skins intact, resulting in a coarser flour. This difference is important in recipes where texture makes a big difference.
Almond Flour Is Incredibly Nutritious Almond flour is rich in nutrients.
One ounce (28 grams) contains :
Calories: 163
Fat: 14.2 grams (9 of which are monounsaturated)
Protein: 6.1 grams
Carbs: 5.6 grams
Dietary fiber: 3 grams
Vitamin E: 35% of the RDI
Manganese: 31% of the RDI
Magnesium: 19% of the RDI
Copper 16% of the RDI
Phosphorus 13% of the RDI
Almond flour is particularly rich in vitamin E, a group of fat-soluble compounds that act as antioxidants in your body. They prevent damage from harmful molecules called free radicals, which accelerate aging and increase your risk of heart disease and cancer.
In fact, several studies have linked higher vitamin E intakes to lower rates of heart disease and Alzheimer’s
Almond Flour Is Better for Your Blood Sugar
Foods made with refined wheat are high in carbs, but low in fat and fiber. This can cause high spikes in blood sugar levels, followed by rapid drops, which can leave you tired, hungry and craving foods high in sugar and calories. Conversely, almond flour is low in carbs yet high in healthy fats and fiber.
Almond Flour Is Gluten-Free
Wheat flours contain a protein called gluten. It helps dough stay stretchy and capture air during baking so that it rises and becomes fluffy. People who have celiac disease or a wheat intolerance cannot eat foods with gluten because their body mistakes it as harmful.
Almond Flour May Help Lower LDL Cholesterol and Blood Pressure
Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide (17). It’s well known that high blood pressure and “bad” LDL cholesterol levels are risk markers for heart disease. Luckily, what you eat can have a major effect on your blood pressure and LDL cholesterol, with many studies showing that almonds can be quite beneficial for both.
How to Use Almond Flour in Baking and Cooking
Almond flour is easy to bake with. In most baking recipes, you can simply replace regular wheat flour with almond flour. It can also be used in place of bread crumbs to coat meats like fish, chicken and beef. The downside of using almond flour over wheat flour is that baked goods tend to be more flat and dense. This is because the gluten in wheat flour helps dough stretch and traps more air, which helps baked goods rise. Almond flour is also higher in calories than wheat flour, containing 163 calories in one ounce (28 grams), while wheat flour contains 102 calories.
