The body of evidence about nuts and health continues to grow. These local and international research papers, recently published, corroborate decades of research about the importance of a regular handful of nuts in a healthy diet.

Dietary patterns characterized by fat type in association with obesity and type 2 diabetes: A longitudinal study of UK Biobank participants. (2021).
This study, by Australian-based researchers, looked into links between dietary patterns (with varying proportions of SFAs, MUFAs or PUFAs) and obesity, abdominal obesity, and type 2 diabetes. It used data from more than 16,000 adults, aged 40-69 years, in the large UK Biobank cohort. Study participants were followed for an average of six years, to understand if different dietary fats, within the context of an overall diet, led to different weight outcomes. It found a dietary pattern characterised by higher SFA foods was associated with obesity and abdominal obesity incidence (but not type 2 diabetes). Whereas people eating a diet higher in unsaturated ‘healthy’ fats, from foods like avocado, nuts, seeds and olive oil, were less likely to put on weight as they aged, even though their kilojoule intake was similar.

Nuts: Natural pleiotropic nutraceuticals. (2021).
This narrative review paper summarises nut nutrients and the increasing evidence that nuts positively impact a myriad of health outcomes. The macronutrients, micronutrients and phytochemicals of nuts benefit health, particularly a reduced risk of CVD and related metabolic alterations. As nuts are rich in beneficial bioactive compounds and positively impact various health outcomes, the researchers suggest they can be considered ‘natural pleiotropic nutraceuticals’ (that is, having favourable and wide-ranging health benefits). As such, they suggest eating nuts daily should be considered an essential feature of a health-promoting dietary pattern.

Nut consumption in association with overall mortality and recurrence/disease-specific mortality among long-term breast cancer survivors. (2021).
This research looked at the associations of nut consumption (including peanuts and tree nuts) with overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) among 3,449 long-term breast cancer survivors from the Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study. At 10-years post-diagnosis), regular nut consumers had higher OS (93.7% vs 89.0%) and DFS (94.1% vs 86.2%) rates, compared with those who didn’t eat nuts. The associations didn’t vary by nut type. The researchers concluded that nut consumption was associated with better survival, particularly DFS, among long-term breast cancer survivors.

Association of dietary patterns with cognitive function and cognitive decline in Sydney Memory and Ageing Study: A longitudinal analysis. (2021).
This study analysed data, on 1,037 adults aged 70-90 years at baseline, as part of the Sydney Memory and Ageing study. Mediterranean diet and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet scores were generated based on dietary intake for each individual. Neuropsychological tests assessed global cognition and six cognitive domains, at baseline and 2, 4 and 6 years later. No associations were found between the Mediterranean or DASH dietary scores and overall cognition and cognitive decline over six years. But a higher intake of legumes and nuts was related to better overall performance in global cognition and to multiple cognitive domains, and to less decline in global cognition.

Snacking on almonds lowers glycaemia and energy intake compared to a popular high-carbohydrate snack food: An acute randomised crossover study. (2021).
This randomised crossover trial assessed glycaemic and appetite responses, among 100 people, to consuming two isocaloric snacks (providing 10% of participants’ total energy requirements or 1030kJ (equivalent to 42.5 g almonds), whichever provided greater energy): raw almonds and sweet biscuits. It found that snacking on almonds resulted in a significantly lower glycaemic response, compared to snacking on sweet biscuits. Although this did not translate into differences in appetite ratings, significantly less energy (mean -638kJ lower) was consumed over the testing day when almonds were the mid-morning snack, rather than sweet biscuits.

Higher habitual nuts consumption is associated with better cognitive function among Qatari adults. (2021).
This research looked at food frequency data from 1,000 Qatar-based adults (aged >20 years) and compared this with mean reaction time (MRT) – an indicator of cognitive function. Blood samples were also measured for magnesium, lipids and glucose. Eating nuts ≥4–6 times/week was linked with better cognitive function, compared with low consumption (≤1 time/month), especially in older adults (classed as those >50 years). The association between nuts consumption and MRT was not mediated by hypertension, diabetes or serum magnesium.

The association between insulin resistance and the consumption of nut including peanut, pine nut and almonds in working-aged Korean population. (2021).
This retrospective cross-sectional study, of more than 379,000 Korean adults, investigated the link between nut consumption and insulin resistance (IR) – a well-known risk factor for diabetes. It found consuming 15g of nuts ≥ 1/month was associated with 10% lower odds of elevated IR, compared with eating nuts < 1/month (reference). The association was more remarkable in women, those with normal glycaemia, and people aged <40 years. The researchers concluded that increased nut consumption may have a favourable effect on IR.

Dietary mineral intake from nuts and its relationship to hypertension among Korean adults. (2021).
The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between the intake of nuts, focusing on their mineral contents, and the risk of hypertension in nationally representative samples in Korea. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 12,113 subjects, aged 19-64 years using data from KNHANES 2016-2019. Daily intake of 20 nuts and 9 minerals from nuts was assessed. The daily intake of minerals from nuts was significantly higher in the nut-overmedian (OM) group than in the nut-undermedian (UM) group. It found an inverse link between nut consumption, including minerals obtained from nuts, and hypertension, especially in women. The researchers concluded that incorporating nuts into the daily diet may lower the risk of hypertension in adult Korean women.

The effects of almonds on gut microbiota, glycometabolism, and inflammatory markers in patients with type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. (2021).
This review, of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) published over almost 20 years, looked at the effect of almonds on gut microbiota, glycaemic control, and inflammatory markers, in people with type 2 diabetes. It found almond-based diets promoted the growth of short-chain fatty acid (SCFAs)-producing gut microbiota, and were effective in lowering glycated haemoglobin and body mass index (BMI) in people with type 2 diabetes, compared with control. The effects of almonds were not significant with respect to fasting blood glucose, 2-hour postprandial blood glucose, inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein and TNF-α), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA–IR), and fasting insulin.

Association of nut consumption with risk of total cancer and 5 specific cancers: Evidence from 3 large prospective cohort studies. (2021).
This research looked into the link between nut consumption and cancer risk. The researchers pooled the evidence from three large, US-based prospective cohort studies (the Nurses’ Health Study, the Nurses’ Health Study II, and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study). It found that frequent nut consumption (≥5 times/week) was not associated with risk of total cancer and common individual cancers (including lung, colorectal, breast, bladder, and aggressive prostate cancer).

Modeling the effect of environmentally sustainable food swaps on nutrient intake in pregnant women. (2021).
This research looked at the impact on nutrient intakes of replacing commonly-consumed foods in pregnancy with environmentally-sustainable alternatives. With the highest gashouse gas emissions (GHG), beef was selected as the reference food. The most pronounced reductions in CO₂ emissions were from replacing beef with tofu, legumes, and nuts. For instance, replacing 1 serve/week of beef with an isocaloric serve of nuts (18g) during pregnancy could reduce GHG emissions by 383kg CO₂ equivalents, and increase folate (+10.2µg/serve) and fiber (+1.1g/serve) – with a small decrease in iron intake (-1.1mg/serve). The researchers say simple dietary swaps can noticeably reduce environmental impact, without compromising nutrient intake in pregnancy.