Meta analysis of 'activated almonds'

To start the meta analysis of 'activated almonds' I searched the ovid medical database for all mentions of 'activated almonds':



Well that was fast. So my meta analysis concludes that there is no evidence for the use of activated almonds. But maybe there is evidence for activated almonds, just it isn't published in a peer reviewed journal. Lets go hunting!

Just in case you're wondering, why activated almonds? Well it was on the radio and I am bored, here is what started it off.

Livestrong found here says that 1 oz of almonds has 13% of your daily calories whilst 1 oz of 'activated almonds' has a mere 8%.  They break that down into 'carbs' where 1 oz of activated almonds contain 6g and 3.3 of fiber and fat where activated almonds contain 11g compared to 12.8g of normal almonds.  They then mention protein and vitamins and that activated almonds have good stuff in them but do not show a benefit. Finally in the 'fat' section they say that "Sprouted almonds also contain an abundance of the cholesterol-reducing substances campesterol, beta sitosterol and stanol." 

So what has livestrong told us?
1. There is a reduction in calories
2. There is a reduction in fat
3. It has all this good stuff

Point 1 and 2 sound great but it seems misleading.  Why?
Well let's do a science experiment:
1. Get 100g of any substance.

2. Mix with 100 g of water

3. Split that shit and notice that you now have 100g but with only 50g of  the substance and 50g of water.

  So what does making a mess in the kitchen have to do with activated almonds? Not much.
But it does demonstrate that if you rehydrate food and measure its energy per weight before and after you will get a dilution in energy per weight BECAUSE YOU ADDED WATER.  Tiny amounts of energy would be spent by the almonds growing and that would decrease the energy storage in the almond, but it would not be significant.  By that logic you should only eat sprouted potatoes because they are have less calories, but let's face it you eat them cause you left them for too long.

Point 3 up there was something about having nutrients.  Interestingly there is no comparison between nutrients of almonds and activated almonds probably because they would show that the nutrients have also been diulted.   So no specific change mentioned on the nutrient front.

What has livestrong actually told us?  That if you make awesome crunchy almonds soggy then you have made your almonds soggy.



But I don't want to give up there, lets keep looking for any evidence. Livestrong gives some references. So...

reference 1:
An almond supplier, no conflict of interest there...  They claim "The process of sprouting fundamentally changes the nutrient composition of the nut. The nutrients such as enzymes, amino acids, and vitamins are substantially increased and become more bio-available, allowing for better absorption. The "anti-nutrients" such as phytic acid, enzyme inhibitors and insoluble fibres are decreased, again allowing for increased bio-availability and nutrient absorption."

But they don't give a reference so it is all just hear say.  I might touch on phytic acid later but the phrase 'enzyme inhibitors' is as vauge as saying "other bad stuff" and "insoluble fibres" simply means fibre, which is a desired part of our diet.

Reference 2: Is by "Almond Essence Nut Milk" It is a website for a book, written by an artist and a computer programmer. Its claim is "Sprouting enlivens the enzymes that are dormant within each almond. These enzymes activate when they come in contact with water (the soaking process), and the nuts are “awakened”. The potential growth for each almond is to become a tree—and when we eat sprouted almonds our bodies receive this concentrated vital energy and nutrition (page 20)"

I mean it's a nice idea.  Again there are no references except to their own book that I am not going to read. Further if all it takes is for the enzymes to come in contact with water, then there will be plenty of time in a stomach. Maybe there is a really complicated mechanism here that just won’t fit onto a blurb but if there was I would expect to see the information in a medical journal or the book to be written by a biochemist. Let us move on.

Reference 3-5 on live strong are for the daily requirements cited on the page. Let’s skip them.

Reference 6: "All about almonds sprouted" is a 3 paragraph summary of 'almond sprouts'. The only line which even mentions a benefit is "Of all nuts, almonds are the easiest to digest, especially after 24-48 hours of sprouting. "

Once again it has no references, nor any reason cited. There is one link on the page which takes you to advertised books on the site that don't relate to almonds.

After what seems like an epic search the only benefit that I could substantiate is sprouting may reduce  Phytic acid.   What is this benefit? Let's consult wiki!

"Phytic acid is found within the hulls of nuts, seeds, and grains.^[2] In-home food preparation techniques can reduce the phytic acid in all of these foods. Simply cooking the food will reduce the phytic acid to some degree. More effective methods are soaking in an acid medium, lactic acid fermentation, and sprouting. "
And what does phytic acid do?  Well it binds to chemicals in the intestine making them nonabsorbable.  It has this effect on a number of chemicals but the effect is minimised because "soaking in an acid medium" IE our stomach reduces the effect.  Regarding the effects on phytic acid wiki concludes:
"For people with a particularly low intake of essential minerals, especially those in developing countries, [the] effect can be undesirable."
 
Conclusion:
Is there a conceivable nutritional benefit?  Yes
Is it a significant benefit for a normal person who is not deficient? No
Is it worth eating soggy almonds? No