The body of evidence about nuts and health continues to grow. These local and international research papers, published around November 2024, corroborate decades of research about the importance of a regular handful of nuts within a healthy diet.

Nut consumption and disability-free survival in community-dwelling older adults: A prospective cohort study. (Wild et al, 2024).
This prospective cohort study followed 9,916 older Australians (≥70 years) – living independently and free of chronic disabling disease at the start of the study – across an average of 3.9 years. It found older people who ate nuts every day or several times a day, regardless of the type or form of nut, lived longer without dementia or a major physical disability, compared to those who never or rarely ate nuts. The findings of an improved healthy lifespan with nut consumption were especially relevant for older people with less-than-optimal diets.

Knowledge, practices and perceptions of energy labelling of nut products among Australian consumers and stakeholders: An online survey. (Nikodijevic et al, 2024).
Current energy labelling for nuts relies on Atwater factors, which tend to overestimate the actual available energy from nuts and may deter nut consumption due to concerns about weight gain. This study aimed to assess stakeholders’ knowledge, practices, and perceptions regarding the inclusion of true metabolisable energy on nutrition labels and its potential impact on nut consumption. Findings revealed limited awareness, particularly among consumers, about the relationship between regular nut consumption and body weight. Both consumers and stakeholders showed a preference for labels displaying the metabolisable energy of nuts alongside the Atwater energy content.

Efficacy of walnut supplementation in managing overweight and obesity: A meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. (Liu et al, 2024).
The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis, of 12 randomised controlled trials, found adding walnuts to the diet significantly lowered both total and LDL-cholesterol levels in people who are overweight or obese. It also showed that adding walnuts did not adversely affect body weight – with no notable differences in weight loss and BMI reduction between those who added walnuts to their diet, and the control groups. This suggests that walnuts favourably impact blood lipid levels, without impacting body weight in overweight or obese adults.

Mediterranean diet lowers risk of new-onset diabetes: A nationwide cohort study in China. (Ying et al, 2024).
This study included 12,575 participants without diabetes at baseline, from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). Dietary intake was measured by three consecutive 24-hour dietary recalls. Mediterranean diet adherence (MDA) was measured by a score scale that included nine components (i.e., vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, cereals, fish, red meat, dairy products, and alcohol). During a median follow-up of 9 years, 445 (3.5%) subjects developed diabetes. Overall, there was an inverse association between the MDA score and new-onset diabetes (per score increment, HR 0.83). Greater fruit, fish, and nut intake was significantly associated with a lower risk of new-onset diabetes.

Vegetarian dietary patterns and cardiovascular risk factors and disease prevention: An umbrella review of systematic reviews. (Landry et al, 2024).
This umbrella review included 21 systematic reviews, primarily from observational evidence. It looked at the relationships between vegetarian, vegan and non-vegetarian dietary patterns and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and health outcomes in healthy adults. Vegetarian (including vegan) dietary patterns were associated with a 15% and 8% reduced risk for CVD incidence and CVD mortality, respectively, compared to non-vegetarian diets. Vegan dietary patterns were associated with reductions in CVD risk factors including LDL-cholesterol, and body mass index.

Patterns of protein intake and mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes: Results from NHANES. (Jayedi et al, 2024).
This study investigated the relationship between patterns of protein intake and risk of death in adults with type 2 diabetes. Protein intakes were estimated from 11 animal- and plant-based food groups in 4,646 adults participating in NHANES (1999-2018). It concluded that greater adherence to a “healthy” protein pattern (high in proteins from legumes, fruits, nuts, seeds, and fish and low in red meat protein) may be linked with a reduced risk of death. While greater adherence to a “red meat and egg” dietary pattern (also low in fish and poultry proteins), may be associated with a higher risk. Among the findings, the hazard ratio of all-cause mortality for the highest compared to the lowest quartile of the “healthy” protein pattern was 0.77 (95%CI).

Almond snacking modestly improves diet quality and waist circumference but not psychosocial assessments and other cardiometabolic markers in overweight, middle-aged adults: A randomized, crossover trial. (Rayo et al, 2024).
This randomised, crossover design study involved two 8-week dietary interventions separated by a 4-week washout period. The 26 participants were randomised into the almond (57g/day) or control (an isocaloric amount of unsalted pretzels) periods. The main findings were a modest reduction in waist circumference, and improved diet quality, with almond supplementation. During the 8-week almond period, participants had higher intakes of mono- and poly-unsaturated fats, vitamin E, magnesium, and copper, a modest reduction in sodium intake, and a lower carbohydrate intake.

Effects of daily almond consumption on glycemia in adults with elevated risk for diabetes: A randomized controlled trial. (Huang et al, 2024).
A 16-week randomised, parallel-arm, controlled trial involved 81 adults with elevated HbA1c levels. They were randomly assigned to incorporate either 57g of raw almonds, or energy-matched snacks, into their daily diets. Overall, the daily addition of almonds, within a usual diet, did not alter short-term or longer-term glycaemia or HbA1c concentrations. However, almonds were well-tolerated hedonically, and improved diet quality, without promoting weight gain. The researchers suggest weight maintenance in the almond group may be due to energy compensation from other food sources, and limited bioavailability of energy from almonds.

Relationship with nut consumption for breakfast and postprandial glucose, insulin, triglyceride responses: A preliminary study from Türkiye. (Ozger et al, 2024).
This small preliminary 4-week trial, involving 12 people, investigated the effect of incorporating 30g of nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, and peanut butter) at breakfast. Among the findings, participants had significantly lower energy intake throughout the day when they consumed nut-supplemented breakfasts, compared to the control breakfast. Additionally, the visual analog scale (VAS) scores for “felt better after breakfast”, and “provided better satiety”, were significantly higher for the nut-supplemented breakfasts, suggesting a role for nuts in enhancing meal satisfaction and satiety.