title: The effect of almond consumption on elements of endurance exercise performance in trained athletes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Almonds are a healthy tree nut food with high nutrient density. Their consumption has been shown to ameliorate oxidative stress, inflammation, etc. The objective of the study was to examine the effect of almonds on elements of endurance exercise performance in trained athletes.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 10-week crossover, placebo controlled study was conducted. Eight trained male cyclists and two triathletes were randomly assigned to consume 75 g/d whole almonds (ALM) or isocaloric cookies (COK) with equal subject number. They consumed the assigned food for 4 wks and then the alternate food for another 4 wks. They underwent 3 performance tests including 125-min steady status exercise (SS) and 20-min time trial (TT) on an indoor stationary trainer at the start of the study (BL) and at the end of each intervention phase. Venous blood was collected in the morning prior to the performance test for biochemical measurements and finger blood during the test for glucose determination. Carbohydrate and fat oxidation, energy expenditure, and oxygen use were calculated using respiratory gas analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ALM increased cycling distance during TT by 1.7 km as compared BL (21.9 vs. 20.2 km, P = 0.053) and COK increased 0.6 km (20.8 vs. 20.2 km, P > 0.05). ALM, but not COK, led to higher CHO and lower fat oxidation and less oxygen consumption during TT than BL (P < 0.05), whereas there was no significant difference in heart rate among BL, ALM and COK. ALM maintained higher blood glucose level after TT than COK (P < 0.05). ALM had higher vitamin E and haemoglobin and lower serum free fatty acid (P < 0.05), slightly elevated serum arginine and nitric oxide and plasma insulin (P > 0.05) than BL, and a higher total antioxidant capacity than COK (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Whole almonds improved cycling distance and the elements related to endurance performance more than isocaloric cookies in trained athletes as some nutrients in almonds may contribute to CHO reservation and utilization and effective oxygen utilization. The results suggest that almonds can be incorporated into diets of those who undertake exercise training for performance improvement.
authors.affiliation: Center for Sports Nutrition, National Institute of Sports Medicine, 1st Anding Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Muqing
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: Center for Sports Nutrition, National Institute of Sports Medicine, 1st Anding Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Jinde
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Center for Sports Nutrition, National Institute of Sports Medicine, 1st Anding Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Center for Sports Nutrition, National Institute of Sports Medicine, 1st Anding Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Chinese Baiyi Cycling Team, Fengtai District, Beijing 100072, China.
authors.forename: Chenguang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Center for Sports Nutrition, National Institute of Sports Medicine, 1st Anding Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: Center for Sports Nutrition, National Institute of Sports Medicine, 1st Anding Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Baohua
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Center for Sports Nutrition, National Institute of Sports Medicine, 1st Anding Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Qirong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Center for Sports Nutrition, National Institute of Sports Medicine, 1st Anding Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Juntao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Almond Board of California, Modesto, CA 95354, USA.
authors.forename: Guangwei
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Almond Board of California, Modesto, CA 95354, USA.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lapsley
authors.affiliation: Antioxidants Research Laboratory, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Blumberg
authors.affiliation: Antioxidants Research Laboratory, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: C-Y Oliver
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chen
keywords: Almonds; Antioxidant defense capacity; Exercise performance; Substrate oxidation