Almonds every day helped the flu vaccine build more antibodies against infections
☕ Includes a question for the family ↓
Infections and vaccines after 50Part of a story we are following · 6 articles · See every update
Good news for your snack drawer. A daily serving of almonds helped the body build more antibodies after a flu shot, the kind of defense that helps your body fight infections. In a randomized trial, people who ate almonds had higher antibody levels against one flu strain than people who ate pretzels.
The almond eaters also showed a bigger jump in antibodies against a second strain. Almonds are a food you can find at any grocery store, so this is an easy one to try.
How the study worked
Researchers split 86 healthy adults, ages 40 to 64, into two groups for 8 weeks in a randomized trial. One group ate almonds (56 grams a day, about 2 ounces). The other ate pretzels with the same number of calories. At week 4, everyone got the seasonal flu vaccine. The results appeared in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition on October 26, 2026. Almost everyone’s vaccine already worked well in both groups, so the study could not show a difference in that part.
What they found
Among the 86 adults, the almond group had much higher antibody levels against the H1N1 flu strain four weeks after the shot. Their average level was 359, compared with 110 in the pretzel group. That is more than three times as high.
| Almonds | 359 |
|---|---|
| Pretzels | 110 |
The rise from before the shot to after it tells a similar story. For H1N1, antibodies rose about 18-fold with almonds and about 4-fold with pretzels. For a strain called B/Yamagata, they rose about 10-fold with almonds and about 5-fold with pretzels.
The usual yes-or-no measure of a vaccine “taking” was high in both groups: 93% with almonds and 95% with pretzels. In other words, the flu shot worked well for nearly everyone. Almonds added more antibodies on top of that.
The researchers also looked at gut bacteria. A friendly bacterium called Roseburia hominis was more abundant in the almond group. Almonds did not change stool consistency or the short-chain fatty acids that gut bacteria make.
Why would a snack matter for a vaccine?
Antibodies are small proteins your body makes to recognize a virus. A vaccine teaches your body to build them. Almonds contain fiber and nutrients tied to immune function, and fiber feeds the bacteria in your gut, which talk to your immune system. This study did not prove how almonds did it, but it showed that a whole food, not just a supplement, can go along with a stronger antibody response.
What you can do today
Put a small handful of almonds, about 2 ounces, in a container for your afternoon snack, and swap them in for chips or pretzels. If you have not had your flu shot this season, you can get one at most US pharmacies, often with no appointment.
Talk about it at home
A vaccine is like a training day for your body. It shows your body what a germ looks like so it can make little guards called antibodies. In this study, people who ate almonds every day made more guards against one kind of flu.
Try it at home
How could we find out if a snack really made the difference, and not something else? Think about why the researchers gave the other group pretzels with the same calories.
Keep exploring
Copies this article and its questions so you can paste them into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or the AI you use, and keep the conversation going.
Questions and answers
- Do almonds make the flu vaccine work better?
- In this trial, people who ate almonds made higher antibody levels against some flu strains after the shot. The vaccine worked well for nearly everyone in both groups.
- How many almonds were in the study?
- Participants ate 56 grams a day, about 2 ounces, for 8 weeks.
- Can almonds replace the flu shot?
- No. Everyone in the study got the vaccine. Almonds were an addition to the shot, not a substitute.
- Who took part in the trial?
- Eighty-six healthy adults ages 40 to 64. The average age was 51, and 73% were women.
