Good news for peanut lovers. Eating a handful of nuts daily can reduce risks from chronic disease like cancer, stroke, Diabetes, brain and respiratory disease.
A Maastricht University cohort study that started in 1986 found out that people who eat nuts regularly were found to be healthier and less prone to deadly diseases. Participated by 120,000 Dutch people, the study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology revealed that people who enjoyed eating a handful of nuts or approximately 15 grams of nuts or peanuts daily have at least 23% less chance of acquiring cancer, diabetes, and other diseases. Eating nuts is even more effective in preventing neurodegenerative diseases. It can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer by almost 50%. Eating nuts won't make you nuts.
Science Daily reports that the study author Professor Piet van den Brandt initially attributed the power of nuts to its many nutritional contents including its monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, various vitamins, fiber, antioxidants, and other bioactive compounds. But before you get nuts eating nuts, the study added that peanut butter does not count as a magical nut precisely because of its trans fats, salt and sugars contents that could inhibit the protective effects of peanuts. Moreover, eating too much nut does not increase the nuts protective power. A higher intake will not increase reduction in mortality risk. One should thus still eat nut in moderation.
But exactly what kind of nuts are we talking about here? The good news is the study focused on tree nuts and peanuts. It does not specifically pertain to the expensive ones like pistachio or macadamia.
The power of nuts has been confirmed earlier by previous similar studies. A study from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville have earlier found that eating peanut reduced risk of blood clots, lower cholesterol, and reduced risk of arrhythmia as reported in Medical News Today .
