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

Consumption of nuts and seeds and health outcomes including cardiovascular, diabetes and metabolic disease, cancer, and mortality: An umbrella review. (2022).
This comprehensive umbrella review compiled the evidence from existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses on nuts and health. Among the findings, eating a handful of nuts a day, compared to eating no nuts, was associated with a 21% reduced risk for CVD, and a 22% reduced risk of dying from all causes. The researchers say the evidence supports dietary recommendations to eat a handful of nuts a day.

Nut consumption is associated with a shift of the NMR lipoprotein subfraction profile to a less atherogenic pattern among older individuals at high CVD risk. (2022).
In this study, cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were conducted after one-year of follow-up in 196 men and women, within the framework of PREDIMED trial. It looked at links between the amount and type of nuts consumed, and measures of lipoprotein atherogenity and insulin resistance in older people at high cardiovascular risk. Increasing nut consumption was associated with a shift of the lipoprotein subfraction profile to a less atherogenic pattern, as well as lower circulating concentrations of branched chain amino-acids and decreased insulin resistance.

Effects of regular Brazil Nut (Bertholletia excelsa H.B.K.) consumption on health: A systematic review of clinical trials. (2022).
This systematic review of 24 studies, of which 15 were non-randomised, looked at the effects of regular Brazil nut consumption on health markers in humans. Brazil nuts were consumed in the context of a habitual free-living diet in all studies. Results showed improvements in various health markers, including lipid markers and fasting glucose, oxidative stress and DNA damage, and inflammation and thyroid function. The authors concluded that benefits of Brazil nut consumption were found in different pathways of action and study populations.

Angiopoietin-like protein responses to pecan-enriched diets versus a nut-excluded diet. (2022).
This randomised controlled trial investigated the impact of daily pecan consumption (68g), over 8 weeks, on angiopoietin-like proteins (ANGPTLs). It found that daily pecan consumption improved postprandial angiopoietin-like 3 (ANGPTL3) after a high saturated fat meal. As ANGPTL3 has a role in regulating plasma lipid levels, the researchers say improvements in lipid metabolism from pecan consumption may be mediated through this angiopoietin-like protein.

Mixed nuts with high nutrient density improve insulin resistance in mice by gut microbiota remodelling. (2022).
This study, in mice, looked at the effect of an ‘optimised’ mixed nut formulation on insulin resistance and gut microbiota. The ‘optimised mixed nut formulation’ (MN3) had the highest Nutrient Rich Food (NRF) index and the lowest energy, compared with other diets (including a high-fat diet) and nut ‘formulations’ tested. It found MN3 improved insulin resistance in low-grade inflammation, via gut microbiota remodelling.