Consuming a handful of nuts- at least 20 gm- can cut the chance of heart disease by nearly 30 per cent, the risk of cancer by 15 per cent, and that of premature death by 22 per cent. It can also reduce the risk of diabetes by 40 per cent and the chance of death from respiratory disease by half. Nuts and peanuts are high in fibre, magnesium, and polyunsaturated fats - nutrients that are beneficial for cutting cardiovascular disease risk.
Researchers from Imperial College London say those in the study were eating a range of nuts, including walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, pistachios, pecans, Brazil nuts and peanuts. All types of nuts protected against heart disease and reduced the risk of early mortality. Peanuts were found to cut the risk of stroke, while tree nuts were associated with the reduced risk of cancer.
Researchers said the benefits appeared to come from the nutritional value of nuts. Study co-author Dagfinn Aune said: "Nuts and peanuts are high in fibre, magnesium, and polyunsaturated fats - nutrients that are beneficial for cutting cardiovascular disease risk and which can reduce cholesterol levels. "Some nuts, particularly walnuts and pecan nuts are also high in antioxidants, which can fight oxidative stress and possibly reduce cancer risk.”
Although nuts are high in fat, there was also evidence they could reduce the risk of obesity, he suggested. Dr Aune said that just a handful of nuts seemed to have a “substantial effect” with results found consistently across a number of diseases. The team analysed data from 29 studies including more than 800,000 participants. While there was some variation between the populations that were studied, such as between men and women, people living in different regions, or people with different risk factors, the researchers found that nut consumption was associated with a reduction in disease risk across most of them.
No added benefit was found from eating more than 20g or 0.7 oz of nuts daily. Earlier this year a separate study by Imperial College London suggested that feeding babies peanuts early could prevent allergy.
