Almond flour: what grinding changes

Almost none of the research on this page tested almond flour the way you use it, baked into a cake or a loaf. What it does show is that grinding hands over more of the fat: in a chewing study of 31 people, ground almonds released a predicted 10.4 percent of their fat against 9.3 percent for whole ones. The trials fed people almonds, whole or ground raw, and measured what happened next. A review of 21 studies ranked the energy the body gets from nuts as flour first, then chopped, then whole. The gut findings are smaller than they first look. In 87 healthy adults eating 56 g of almonds a day for four weeks, the main thing the study set out to move, bifidobacteria (a group of gut bacteria), did not change. Butyrate, a fatty acid made by gut bacteria, was a secondary measure taken in stool. It rose to 24.1 against 18.2 µmol/g on the control diet, and whole or ground made no difference. Transit time and gut symptoms did not change. The cholesterol figure belongs to almonds in general. Across 48 trial comparisons in 2485 adults, in trials of at least 4 weeks, LDL fell by 0.132 mmol/L, about 5 mg/dL, which is a small drop. Nobody has repeated that with almond flour after it has been through an oven, so for the flour it is a reasonable expectation and nothing firmer.

The numbers, per 100 g

What your body absorbs

• Grinding almonds into flour made chewed particles smaller and raised predicted lipid release to 10.4% versus 9.3% for whole almonds in a 31-person mastication study. — 31 participants in the mastication sub-study of an RCT (n = 31) Evidence B source
  Predicted lipid release 10.4% vs 9.3% (P = 0.017)
• In 20 men, a meal of whole almond pieces raised blood triglycerides 74% less than the same fat eaten as almond oil plus defatted almond flour, because cell walls trap the fat. — 20 healthy men, randomised crossover, 54 g fat per meal (n = 20) Evidence B source
  Triglyceride iAUC 74% lower than almond oil plus defatted flour, 58% lower than sunflower oil
• In an artificial mastication model, 8.9% of lipid was released from raw almonds, 12.4% from diced almonds and 6.2% from almond butter, and the model put total lipid potentially available for digestion in almond butter at 94.0%. — four almond meals chewed in an artificial mastication model; faecal samples from volunteers, number not given in the abstract (n = not reported in abstract) Evidence D source
  Lipid release after artificial mastication 8.9% raw, 11.8% roasted, 12.4% diced, 6.2% almond butter; modelled total lipid potentially available in almond butter 94.0%

What it does to your health

• In 87 healthy adults eating 56 g/day of whole or ground almonds (almond flour) for 4 weeks, faecal bifidobacteria, the primary outcome, did not differ, while butyrate in stool rose to 24.1 versus 18.2 umol/g on control, and the almond form made no difference. — 87 healthy adults, 3-arm parallel trial, 4 weeks, 79 analysed (n = 87) Evidence B source
  Faecal butyrate 24.1 vs 18.2 umol/g (P = 0.046), no change in bifidobacteria, transit or gut symptoms
• A 2025 meta-analysis of 48 almond-control datasets (2485 adults) found almonds lowered LDL cholesterol by 0.132 mmol/L. — adults without cardiovascular disease, RCTs of at least 4 weeks (n = 2485) Evidence A source
  LDL-C -0.132 mmol/L (95% CI -0.190 to -0.075), about 5 mg/dL

Safety, limits and interactions

• A case report links five handfuls of almonds plus six tablespoons of chia seeds a day, eaten by a 59-year-old woman with hypertension to manage IBS symptoms, to oxalate nephropathy, with creatinine rising from 1.3 to 1.8 mg/dL. — one 59-year-old woman with hypertension (n = 1) Evidence D source
  Creatinine 1.3 to 1.8 mg/dL, calcium oxalate on biopsy, improved on a low-oxalate diet

What people believe that the data does not support

• A systematic review of 21 studies found that nuts yield less energy than label factors predict, 18.5 kJ/g for raw almonds, and that flour releases more energy than chopped or whole nuts. — 21 human feeding and in vitro studies of tree nuts and peanuts, to June 2021 (n = 21 studies) Evidence B source
  Raw almond ME 18.5 kJ/g, ranking flour > chopped > whole

Who this works differently for

• A case report describes scurvy with femur fractures in an infant fed only almond beverages and almond flour from 2.5 to 11 months of age. — one infant (n = 1) Evidence D source
  Scurvy, reversed with 300 mg/day vitamin C over 3 months
• Across 36 prevalence studies, mostly in children, challenge-confirmed tree nut allergy affected under 2% of the people studied, and almond was among the most reported tree nut allergies in the UK. — 36 population studies, mostly children, Europe, UK and USA, 1996 to 2014 (n = 36 studies) Evidence C source
  Challenge-confirmed prevalence below 2%, probable 0.05 to 4.9%

The bottom line

How much almond fat you digest depends on how broken the almond is. In a laboratory chewing model, 8.9 percent of the fat came out of raw almonds and 12.4 percent out of diced ones, and for almond butter a model put the fat potentially available for digestion at 94.0 percent. That is an estimate, not a measure of what people absorbed. The cell walls are what hold it back. When 20 men ate whole almond pieces, their blood fats after the meal rose 74 percent less than when the same fat came as almond oil served with almond flour that had its fat taken out. The same review that ranked flour above whole nuts found raw almonds give the body about 18.5 kJ per gram, less than the standard label factors predict, so the calorie count on a bag of whole almonds runs high. For flour we have no number of its own. Almond flour is ground almonds, so an almond allergy covers it. Across 36 population studies, tree nut allergy confirmed by a supervised food challenge affected under 2 percent of the people studied, most of them children, and almond was among the tree nuts most often reported in the UK. Almond flour and almond drinks cannot be the whole diet of a baby. One infant fed only those two from 2.5 to 11 months developed scurvy with fractures of the thigh bone, and recovered on vitamin C. That is a single case report. So is the other warning here. A 59-year-old woman with high blood pressure ate five handfuls of whole almonds and six tablespoons of chia seeds a day to ease her irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). She developed kidney damage from oxalate, a compound that can crystallise in the kidney, with creatinine rising from 1.3 to 1.8 mg/dL, and improved on a low oxalate diet. One case cannot tell you a safe amount. If you have had kidney stones or kidney disease and bake with a lot of almond flour, raise it with whoever treats you. Our evidence has real holes. No study we hold measured oxalate in the flour itself, set an upper limit for it, or checked it against any medicine, and none tested what baking heat does to it. Silence on those points is a gap in the research, and it tells you nothing about safety.

Sources

1. almf-b1-02 · RCT
   Ground almonds resulted in significantly smaller PSD and higher mean ± SD predicted lipid release (10.4% ± 1.8%) than whole almonds (9.3% ± 2.0%; P = 0.017).
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2022 · checked 2026-09-23
2. almf-b1-03 · RCT
   The postprandial increase in plasma triacylglycerol was lower [74% and 58% lower incremental area under curve (iAUC)] after the WA meal than after the AO and CO meals (P < 0.001). ... The bioaccessibility of lipid in almond seeds, which is regulated by the structure and properties of cell walls, plays a primary role in determining postprandial lipemia.
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2008 · checked 2026-09-23
3. almf-b1-06 · laboratory study
   Lipid release after mastication (8.9% from NA, 11.8% from RA, 12.4% from DA and 6.2% from AB) was used to validate our theoretical mathematical model of lipid bioaccessibility. The total lipid potentially available for digestion in AB was 94.0%
   Nutrients, 2018 · checked 2026-09-23
4. almf-b1-01 · RCT
   There were no significant differences in mean ± SD abundance of fecal bifidobacteria after consumption of whole almonds (8.7% ± 7.7%), ground almonds (7.8% ± 6.9%), or control (13.0% ± 10.2%; q = 0.613). Consumption of almonds (whole and ground pooled) resulted in higher mean ± SD butyrate (24.1 ± 15.0 μmol/g) than control (18.2 ± 9.1 μmol/g; P = 0.046). There was no effect of almonds on gut microbiota at the phylum level or diversity, gut transit time, stool consistency, or gut symptoms. Almond form (whole compared with ground) had no effect on study outcomes.
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2022 · checked 2026-09-23
5. almf-b1-05 · meta-analysis of RCTs
   36 publications (48 almond-control datasets) representing 2485 participants were included. Almond consumption significantly reduced LDL-C (-0.132 mmol/L; 95% CI: -0.190, -0.075 mmol/L; p < 0.001)
   Nutrients, 2025 · checked 2026-09-23
6. almf-b1-08 · case report
   A 59-year-old woman with a history of controlled hypertension presented with creatinine 1.8 mg/dL, increased from baseline 1.3 mg/dL. ... Diet included six tablespoons of chia seeds and five handfuls of almonds daily to manage IBS symptoms.
   BMJ Case Rep, 2020 · checked 2026-09-23
7. almf-b1-04 · systematic review
   The ME of nuts was consistently lower than that predicted by Atwater factors for investigated nut types (almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios, walnuts, and peanuts). ... ME was influenced by nut type (ME = 22.6 kJ/g for pistachios; ME = 18.5 kJ/g for raw almonds), physical form (flour > chopped > whole nuts), heat processing (butter > roasted > raw) and dose of consumption.
   Adv Nutr, 2023 · checked 2026-09-23
8. almf-b1-07 · case report
   We report a case of scurvy after exclusive intake of almond beverages and almond flour from 2.5 to 11.0 months of life. The patient was referred for pathologic fractures of the femur, irritability, and failure to thrive.
   Pediatrics, 2016 · checked 2026-09-23
9. almf-b1-09 · systematic review of observational studies
   Of the 36 studies identified most were in children (n = 24) and from Europe (n = 18), UK (n = 8) or USA (n = 5). Challenge-confirmed IgE-mediated tree nut allergy prevalence was less than 2 % (although only seven studies used this gold standard) while probable tree nut allergy prevalence ranged from 0.05 to 4.9 %. ... Brazil nut, almond and walnut most commonly reported in the UK.
   Curr Allergy Asthma Rep, 2015 · checked 2026-09-23