More Evidence for the Benefit of Eating Nuts

We have written a lot, both in this blog and in The Natural Path newsletter, about the health benefits of eating nuts. Contrary to persistent misinformation, the evidence is overwhelming that nuts help you lose weight, not make you gain it. They are also good for lowering cholesterol and improving heart health. Newer research is also showing that eating nuts protects against a wider array of diseases than previousy thought: including, diabetes, cancer, respiratory disease and neurodegenerative diseases. Eating nuts also protects against premature death from any cause.

And now a new study has added even more evidence and even more conditions. . . .

This large study followed 19,386 people for an average of 4.3 years. Some people in the study never ate nuts at all. But if you ate them even occasionally–just twice a month or less–you were 32% less likely to die from any cause during the study.

Greater consumption meant greater protection. People who ate nuts eight times a week or more were 47% less likely to die from any cause during the study. They were also 36% less likely to die from cancer. This new study also showed that eating nuts reduces inflammation, adding a new benefit to the list for eating nuts.

Br J Nutr 2015;114:804-11