A recent study links peanut and nut intake to lower mortality rates, the study however did not find protective effect for peanut butter.
According to a Dutch study, eating just half a handful of nuts daily could really lower the risk of early death. Although earlier studies had already indicated an association with cardiovascular health, this study is the first to examine specific nuts and diseases.
Researchers at Maastricht University found a 23 percent lower chance of death during the 10-year study in people eating at least 10g i.e. 0.3oz of nuts or peanuts a day. Peanut butter, which is high in salt and trans fats, did not show any benefit, BBC noted.
A nut contains monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, various vitamins, fibre, antioxidants and other bioactive compounds.
Project leader professor Piet van den Brandt from Maastricht University, in the Netherlands stated, "It was remarkable that substantially lower mortality was already observed at consumption levels of 15 grams of nuts or peanuts on average per day."
The effect does not differ in men and women.
Another report on Zee News note that over 120,000 Dutch 55-to-69-year-old men and women provided dietary and lifestyle information in 1986, and then their mortality rate was checked 10 years later. The premature mortality risk owing to respiratory and neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and diabetes were lower among the nut consumers.
An average 23 percent lower risk of 10-year mortality across all diseases, with a decrease of:
45 percent for neurodegenerative disease
39 percent for respiratory disease
30 percent for diabetes.
"It was remarkable that substantially lower mortality was already observed at consumption levels of 15g of nuts or peanuts on average per day," Prof Piet van den Brandt, who led the study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, noted.
Prof Van den Brandt told the BBC that the researchers had taken into account the factors that nut consumers ate more vegetables and fruit, and that women who ate nuts were often thin, and adjusted the results accordingly.
