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.

A pilot study on the effects of nut consumption on cardiovascular biomarkers. (2020).

This US-based research found that eating a handful of nuts daily, over just four weeks, drastically improved the blood markers that are linked with heart disease. The researchers asked 11 study participants, with an average age of 52 years and who all had undesirable blood lipid levels, to eat a combination of three almonds, three hazelnuts and three walnuts each morning for four weeks. This led to a positive shift in all five markers they measured. That is, higher HDL (good) cholesterol; lower total cholesterol; lower total cholesterol: HDL cholesterol ratio; lower LDL (bad) cholesterol; lower triglycerides.

The relationship between pistachio intake and adiposity: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. (2020).

This research looked at the outcomes of eleven trials, involving 1,593 subjects, to assess the relationship between pistachio intake and obesity. Compared to the group on a control diet, the pistachio diet group had lower BMI values, but there were no significant differences in body weight or waist circumference. The researchers concluded that pistachio intake lowered BMI, without increasing body weight, which supports the view that pistachio consumption is beneficial for health.

Whole almond consumption is associated with better diet quality and cardiovascular disease risk factors in the UK adult population: National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) 2008–2017. (2020).

This research looked at data from the UK’s National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) 2008–2017 (n = 6802, age ≥ 19 year) to estimate whole almond consumption in the UK, and examine associations with diet quality and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. The researchers found that almond consumers had higher diet quality scores, compared with non-consumers; higher intakes of protein, total fat, monounsaturated, n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fats, fibre, folate, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, and iron. They also had lower intakes of trans-fatty acids, total carbohydrate, sugar, and sodium. BMI and waist circumference were lower in whole almond consumers compared to non-consumers.

The public health rationale for promoting plant protein as an important part of a sustainable and healthy diet. (2020).

This review acknowledges that the main principles of a sustainable diet are to consume a variety of unprocessed or minimally processed plant-based foods, with moderate amounts of eggs, dairy, poultry and fish, and modest amounts of ruminant meat. The researchers suggest that to encourage the world’s population to shift towards such a diet, public health messages directed at consumers should highlight that the benefits of plant-based protein.

Mediterranean diet and atherothrombosis biomarkers: A randomised controlled trial. (2020).  

This study assessed whether following a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) improved atherothrombosis biomarkers in high cardiovascular risk individuals. In 358 random volunteers from the PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea trial, the authors assessed the one-year effects on atherothrombosis markers of an intervention with MedDiet, enriched with virgin olive oil (MedDiet-VOO; n = 120) or nuts (MedDiet-Nuts; n = 119), compared with a low-fat control diet (n = 119). Increases in nut, fruit, vegetable, and fatty fish consumption, and decreases in processed meat intake, were linked to beneficial changes in atherothrombosis biomarkers. The researchers concluded that following a MedDiet improved atherothrombosis biomarkers in high cardiovascular risk individuals.

A high polyphenol diet improves psychological wellbeing: The Polyphenol Intervention Trial. (2020).

This intervention study assessed the effect of a high polyphenol diet (HPD), compared to a low polyphenol diet, on aspects of psychological wellbeing. It involved 99 mildly-hypertensive participants, aged 40–65 years, and found people in the HPD group reported a decrease in depressive symptoms, and improvements in general mental health status and physical health. No differences in anxiety, stress, self-esteem or body image perception were observed. According to the researchers, the richest sources of polyphenols include nuts, seeds, fruits (eg. berries, grapes, apples and plums), vegetables (eg. cabbage, eggplant, onions, peppers), plant-derived beverages (including tea, coffee, red wine and fruit juices) and chocolate (particularly dark chocolate).

Association of dietary patterns with the newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus and central obesity: A community based cross-sectional study. (2020).

Researchers investigated the association of dietary patterns with the risk of diabetes and central obesity in a middle-aged Chinese population. They extracted four major dietary patterns using factor analysis: vegetables–fruits food pattern (fruit, vegetables, wheat, beans, nuts and dairy); rice–meat pattern; seafood–eggs pattern; and sweet–fast food pattern. The findings indicated low risk of insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, and central obesity with the vegetable-fruits pattern, while an inverse relation with the sweet–fast food pattern.

Replacement of red and processed meat with other food sources of protein and the risk of type 2 diabetes in European populations: The EPIC-InterAct Study. (2020).

This study modelled the association between replacing red and processed meat with other protein sources and the risk of type 2 diabetes and estimated its population impact. Replacing red and processed meat with cheese, yogurt, nuts, or cereals was associated with a lower rate of type 2 diabetes. The researchers concluded that substituting red and processed meat with other protein sources may contribute to the prevention of incident type 2 diabetes in European populations.

A shift toward a plant-centred diet from young to middle adulthood and subsequent risk of type 2 diabetes and weight gain: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. (2020)

A prospective study, conducted in the US, followed adults ages 18–30 years in 1985–1986 through to 2015–2016. The researchers looked at the associations between change in plant-centred diet quality over 20 years and diabetes – as well as change in BMI, waist circumference and weight. Plant-centred diet quality was measured using the A Priori Diet Quality Score (APDQS). During a mean follow-up of 9.3 (± 1.7) years, participants with the largest increase in APDQS over 20 years had a 48% lower risk of diabetes over the subsequent 10 years, compared with participants whose APDQS score remained stable. Young adults who increased plant-centred diet quality also gained less weight by middle adulthood.