The body of evidence about nuts and health continues to grow. These local and international research papers, published around May 2022, corroborate decades of research about the importance of a regular handful of nuts in a healthy diet.

Beneficial effects of nut consumption on cognitive function among elderly: Findings from a 6-year cohort study. (2022).
This research found higher nut consumption to be related to a lower risk of cognitive impairment in Chinese elderly. It involved 9,028 study participants from the Zhejiang Ageing and Health Cohort, whose cognitive function was assessed at baseline and three more times, over a six-year period. Participants consuming ≥70g of nuts per week had a 17% lower risk of cognitive impairment, compared with non-consumers or those who ate nuts less than weekly.

Nut consumption and effects on chronic kidney disease and mortality in the United States. (2022).
This study looked at the association between the consumption frequency of nuts and the prevalence and mortality of chronic kidney disease (CKD) among 6,072 adults (aged ≥20 years) in the USA. Consuming nuts 1–6 times per week was linked with a lower prevalence of CKD. And for those with CKD, consuming nuts 1–6 per week was associated with lower all-cause mortality. In addition, higher nut consumption was significantly associated with lower all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in the non-CKD population.

The protective effect of peanuts, pine nuts and almonds on gastric intestinal metaplasia in Korean men. (2022).
This first-of-its-kind study looked at the effect of nut (peanut, pine nut and almond) consumption on gastric intestinal metaplasia (GIM) – a pre-cancerous change to the stomach mucosa, linked with an increased risk of gastric cancer. It involved 53,424 men and 33,024 women, based in Korea, who were tracked for just over five years. It found greater nut consumption was linked with a lower risk of GIM in ‘working-age’ men (average age 38.7 ± 7.0 years), particularly those without obesity. This protective association was not observed in women.

Association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and risk of type 2 diabetes: An updated systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. (2022).
This review, collating the evidence from 16 prospective studies, found that the greatest adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with a 17% reduced risk of type 2 diabetes (pooled RR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.77–0.90; I² =79%, P≤ 0.001). And each ‘1-score’ rise in the Mediterranean diet score was linked with a 3% decreased risk of type 2 diabetes. The authors concluded that even modest adherence to the Mediterranean diet is linked to a decreased incidence of type 2 diabetes.