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.

The EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy, sustainable, and just food systems. (Rockstrom et al, 2025).
This updated analysis builds on the 2019 EAT-Lancet Commission, broadening its scope and strengthening the evidence base. The latest findings reaffirm a strong link between adherence to the planetary health diet (PHD) and improved health outcomes, including lower all-cause mortality and a marked reduction in major diet-related chronic diseases. The PHD promotes a predominantly plant-based dietary pattern, with moderate amounts of animal-sourced foods and limited intake of added sugars, saturated fats, and salt. Central to the diet are increased intakes of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and nuts – recommending around 50g of tree nuts and peanuts per day – alongside modest amounts of meat, fish, poultry, and dairy. The authors state global adoption of this diet could prevent an estimated 40,000 premature deaths daily and reduce agricultural methane emissions by 15% by 2050.

Nut consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease and ischemic heart disease mortality: The Adventist Health Study 2. (Suprono et al, 2025).
This prospective cohort study followed 80,529 participants over an average of 11.1 years. Dietary intake data examined both total nut intake (tree nuts, peanuts, and peanut butter) and tree nut intake specifically (almonds, cashews, walnuts, and mixed nuts). Amongst the findings, higher total nut intake was significantly associated with lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) (HR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.79, 0.94) and ischaemic heart disease (IHD) mortality (HR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.70, 0.94) when comparing the highest to lowest percentiles of intake. Even stronger inverse associations were observed for tree nut intake and CVD (HR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.74, 0.92) and IHD mortality (HR: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.62, 0.87). Replacing unprocessed and processed red meats with total or tree nuts was also linked to a lower risk of CVD and IHD mortality. These findings support dietary recommendations to include more nuts as part of a heart-healthy diet.

Dietary patterns and diet quality before and/or during pregnancy and how these affect birth outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. (Salatas et al, 2025).
This systematic review and meta-analysis of 29 RCTs (7,367 participants) found that improving diet quality – either by meeting recommended macronutrient intakes or increasing unsaturated fat intake – reduced the incidence of low birthweight (<2500g), and showed potential benefits for reducing preterm birth, compared with usual diets. The greatest benefits were seen with dietary patterns rich in unsaturated fats, such as Mediterranean and DASH-style diets, which include foods like nuts, seeds, olive oil, and fatty fish. These improvements are likely related to improved placental development, nutrient transport, and fetal tissue growth. The findings highlight the importance of early dietary interventions during pregnancy to reduce the risk of low birthweight and potentially preterm birth. Encouraging balanced dietary patterns focused on whole foods and healthy fats should be a key component of prenatal care.

Guidelines for early food introduction and patterns of food allergy. (Stanislaw et al, 2025).
This study examined whether rates of peanut and other immunoglobulin E-mediated food allergies (IgE-FA) changed following the release of early peanut introduction guidelines and/or subsequent addendum guidelines. Using electronic health record data from the American Academy of Pediatrics, researchers compared cohorts of children aged 0–3 years before and after each guideline release. Results showed a significant decline in both peanut and overall food allergy incidence after guideline implementation. The cumulative incidence of peanut allergy fell from 0.79% to 0.53%, and of any food allergy from 1.46% to 1.02%, between the pre- and post-guideline periods. Further reductions were observed after the addendum guidelines, with peanut allergy dropping to 0.45% and any food allergy to 0.93%. These findings support the effectiveness of early introduction guidelines in reducing food allergy rates at a population level.

Efficacy of Mediterranean Diet for the prevention of neurological diseases: A systematic review and meta-analysis featured in the Italian National Guidelines “La Dieta Mediterranea”. (Zuliani et al, 2025).
This review provides robust and consistent evidence supporting the protective effect of adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MD). It collated the findings of 45 earlier studies, involving more than 730,000 participants. Among the findings, higher MD adherence was linked with reduced risk or prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease (OR = 0.92), mild cognitive impairment (RR = 0.93), depression (RR = 0.96), and Parkinson’s disease (RR = 0.90), with moderate certainty of evidence. Limited evidence suggested reduced anxiety and lower mortality among patients with Alzheimer’s disease. These findings support the promotion of MD-based dietary patterns in clinical and public health strategies to prevent cognitive decline and enhance healthy aging.

Dietary α-linolenic acid intake, different food sources and risk of all-cause mortality: A prospective cohort study. (Wu et al, 2025).
This large prospective cohort study, combining data from more than 52,000 adults (from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) and the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), found that higher intakes of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) were linked with a significantly lower risk of all-cause mortality. Participants in the highest quartile of ALA intake had a 19% lower mortality risk compared to those in the lowest quartile, with each 1g/day increase in ALA associated with a 4% reduction in risk. Major dietary sources of ALA – such as plant oils, beans, vegetables, nuts, poultry, and fish – were also associated with reduced mortality. These findings suggest that consuming adequate ALA from plant-based foods may help lower the risk of premature death.