Researchers at King’s College London took response of 87 healthy adults who were already eating less than the recommended amount of dietary fibre. Participants were split into three groups: one group changed their snacks for 56 g of whole almonds a day, another for 56 g of ground almonds a day, and the control group ate energy-matched muffins as a control. The trial lasted for four weeks. Researchers found that butyrate was significantly higher among almond eaters compared to those who consumed the muffin. However, whole-almond eaters had an additional 1.5 bowel movements per week. These findings suggest eating almonds could also benefit those with constipation. Testing showed that eating whole and ground almond improved peoples’ diets, having higher intakes of mono saturated fatty acids, fibre, potassium and other important nutrients compared to the control group. Lead author Professor Kevin Whelan, Head of Department of Nutritional Sciences at King’s College London, said: “Part of the way in which the gut microbiota impact human health is through the production of short-chain fatty acids, such as butyrate. We think these findings suggest almond consumption may benefit bacterial metabolism in a way that has the potential to influence human health.”