We all love and eat almonds. However, do they add any fiber to our diet? How much fiber are we really supposed to eat? We explore these, and other questions about almond and almond milk in the article.
Table of Contents
- Are almonds high in fiber?
- How much fiber is in almonds?
- Nutritional Facts: Almonds (3.5 oz/100 g)
- How many almonds should I eat for fiber?
- Do almonds make you poop?
- Is almond milk high in fiber?
- Which has more fiber, almonds or cashews?
- Which has more fiber, almonds or hazelnuts?
- Which has more fiber, almonds or peanuts?
- What nuts have the most fiber?
- Why is fiber important?
- Conclusion
Are almonds high in fiber?
Almonds are high in fiber because a single serving of almonds, 1 oz (23 kernels) provides you with 14% of dietary fiber. That's an excellent value per serving. For instance, one small banana has 10% and one medium-sized potato, 18%. The recommended daily value for fiber is 25 grams per day on a 2,000-calorie diet for adults.
How much fiber is in almonds?
Almonds have 12.5 grams or 50% daily value of fiber per 100 grams (3.5 oz). A serving of 1 oz almonds has 3.5 grams of fiber or 14% of recommended daily value.
This makes almonds a valuable source of fiber and should be eaten by almost anyone because of their high protein, riboflavin, vitamin E, manganese, and magnesium content.
Plus, almonds also contain many other vitamins and minerals, as well as antioxidants.
Continue reading to find out how many almonds should you be eating per day as well as what nuts have the most fiber.
Nutritional Facts: Almonds (3.5 oz/100 g)
- 579 Calories
- Total Fat 49.9 g
- Saturated fat 3.8 g
- Sodium 1 mg
- Potassium 705 mg
- Total Carbohydrate 21.6 g
- Dietary fiber 12.5 g
- Sugar 4.4 g
- Protein 21.2 g
- Vitamin C 0% DV
- Calcium 26% DV
- Iron 29% DV
- Vitamin D 0% DV
- Vitamin B6 11% DV
- Magnesium 75% DV
How many almonds should I eat for fiber?
How many almonds you should eat per day depends on how much fiber you're getting from other foods. If you're already on a healthy diet full of fiber, you may only need to eat an ounce to get a boost of fiber, calcium, and magnesium.
However, if your diet isn't fiber-rich, you may need to eat considerably more almonds to get more fiber. That also means you'll be eating more calories, so be careful not to overdo it. It's better to add more legumes, broccoli, berries, and avocados to your meal plan to diversify your fiber sources.
Adding popcorn, which is another super popular snack food can also help, because one cup of popcorn contains one gram of fiber.
Do almonds make you poop?
Almonds might make you poop more often because they are full of fiber and healthy nutrients, including magnesium. Magnesium is known to neutralize stomach acid and move stools through the intestines.
It also softens and increases the size of the stool. Add in almonds' B5, and B12 vitamins and folic acid, and you might be ready to poop. However, you should eat a lot of almonds to have that effect. Adjust your almond intake accordingly if you see undesirable changes in your stool frequency.
Is almond milk high in fiber?
Almond milk isn't high in fiber. A 3.5 oz (100 g) serving of almond milk holds less than 0.45 grams of dietary fiber. That's less than 2% of the daily value. However, you can multiply that by simply drinking more of it, i.e. three to four times more, which isn't that hard to do.
That amount of almond milk would give you between 6 to 10% of recommended daily fiber.
Want to know more about almond milk? Find out if almond milk is fattening and if almond milk is good for acid reflux.
Which has more fiber, almonds or cashews?
Looking at the nutritional value table, we can see that almonds have almost four times as much fiber as cashews - 12.5 g vs. 3.3 g per 3.5 oz serving. They are also a bit higher in calories, protein, and fat but have fewer carbs.
| 100 g | Almonds | Cashews |
| Calories | 579 | 553 |
| Carbohydrates | 21.6 g | 30 g |
| Protein | 21.2 g | 18 g |
| Fat | 49.9 g | 44 g |
| Fiber | 12.5 g | 3.3 g |
| Potassium | 733 mg | 660 mg |
| Vitamin C (%DV) | 0% | 0% |
| Vitamin B6 (%DV) | 11% | 20% |
| Vitamin B12 (%DV) | 0% | 0% |
| Calcium (%DV) | 26% | 3% |
| Iron (%DV) | 29% | 37% |
| Magnesium (%DV) | 75% | 73% |
| Vitamin D (%DV) | 0% | 0% |
Which has more fiber, almonds or hazelnuts?
Almonds are a bit higher in fiber than hazelnuts. We're looking at 12.5 grams vs. 10 grams per 3.5 oz serving. That's 50% vs. 40% of recommended daily fiber intake (25 g). Although the two nuts are comparatively similar, hazelnuts do contain vitamin C while almonds don't.
| 100 g | Almonds | Hazelnuts |
| Calories | 579 | 628 |
| Carbohydrates | 21.6 g | 17 g |
| Protein | 21.2 g | 10 g |
| Fat | 49.9 g | 61 g |
| Fiber | 12.5 g | 10 g |
| Potassium | 733 mg | 680 mg |
| Vitamin C (%DV) | 0% | 10% |
| Vitamin B6 (%DV) | 11% | 30% |
| Vitamin B12 (%DV) | 0% | 0% |
| Calcium (%DV) | 26% | 11% |
| Iron (%DV) | 29% | 26% |
| Magnesium (%DV) | 75% | 40% |
| Vitamin D (%DV) | 0% | 0% |
Which has more fiber, almonds or peanuts?
Almonds have a quarter more fiber than peanuts. A 3.5 oz serving of almonds has 12.5 grams vs 9 grams in peanuts. That's 50% vs 9% of recommended daily fiber intake that stands at 25 g per day.
| 100 g | Almonds | Peanuts |
| Calories | 579 | 567 |
| Carbohydrates | 21.6 g | 16 g |
| Protein | 21.2 g | 26 g |
| Fat | 49.9 g | 49 g |
| Fiber | 12.5 g | 9 g |
| Potassium | 733 mg | 705 mg |
| Vitamin C (%DV) | 0% | 0% |
| Vitamin B6 (%DV) | 11% | 15% |
| Vitamin B12 (%DV) | 0% | 0% |
| Calcium (%DV) | 26% | 9% |
| Iron (%DV) | 29% | 25% |
| Magnesium (%DV) | 75% | 42% |
| Vitamin D (%DV) | 0% | 0% |
What nuts have the most fiber?
Nuts are an excellent source of fiber. Here are some that have the highest amount of fiber.
1. Pistachios
Pistachios are full of fiber. For example, 3.5 oz (100 g) contains a whopping 10 grams or 40% of your recommended daily fiber intake. By eating only 20 grams, you're going to get around 10% of the daily value for fiber.
2. Hazelnuts
Hazelnuts are full of magnesium, iron, and B6 but they also have a lot of fiber. To be more exact, 3.5 oz of hazelnuts has 10 grams of fiber or 40% of what you need in a day. Even if you eat "only" 1 ounce, you're still getting 10% of fiber needed.
3. Pecans
Pecans have the same amount per 100 grams as hazelnuts and pistachios - around 10 grams or 40% of recommended daily intake of fiber. A one-ounce serving will give you around 10% of what you need in a day. Plus, they're loaded with protein, magnesium, iron, and calcium.
Why is fiber important?
We all know that fiber is very important to our bodies. But why is that? First of all, fiber includes parts of plants that we can't absorb. We don't digest it and it passes through our stomach, small intestine, and colon.
The two types of fiber include soluble and insoluble fiber. The first one can help lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels and is found in oats, beans, peas, apples, carrots, citruses, etc.
Insoluble fiber, on the other hand, increases stool bulk and helps your bowel movements. It can be found in cauliflower and potatoes, nuts, beans, wheat bran, whole-wheat flour, etc.
Conclusion
Almonds are very high in fiber and it's easy to boost our fiber intake by eating almonds regularly, either as a snack, as part of other foods and meals, or by drinking almond milk.
Source: USDA