A Key Recipe For a Healthier Diet: Are People Eating Nuts Live Longer?

A Key Recipe For a Healthier Diet: Are People Eating Nuts Live Longer?

Hasan Kobat

Written by Hasan Kobat on 17 Jan 2023

For many years, researchers have been attempting to determine whether or not nut consumption is beneficial in preventing several diseases primarily cardiovascular disease and thus increasing people's life expectancy. We listed evidence-based information about nut consumption and its effects on well-being in this article.

How does nut consumption affect well-being?

It is important to remember from the start of this article that nuts do not have a direct impact on living longer. Nuts have an indirect beneficial effect on the body. Cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack, heart failure, coronary artery disease, and others, have been the leading threat to life expectancy. According to US statistics, nearly 805,000 people (1) die from heart attacks each year, making it one of the leading causes of death worldwide.

Researchers all over the world have been working to reduce the number of people who die as a result of heart disease, also known as "cardiovascular mortality." By the twentieth century, there were ongoing investigations focused on finding an answer to a question. Can certain types of nuts help to reduce cardiovascular mortality and improve overall well-being? If the question can be answered in a single sentence, the answer is yes, nuts can prevent heart disease and thus increase life expectancy. Furthermore, nuts can lower the risk of diabetes and high-fat levels (medical term: dyslipidaemia), which can lead to cardiovascular disease and stroke.

People have recently discovered that lifestyle changes, particularly changes in eating habits or diet, have a significant impact on well-being, and nuts have become a popular group of food that is involved in changing diets and reforming lifestyles.

Nuts are a type of special product that contains essential nutrients. Minerals and vitamins, dietary fibre, unsaturated fatty acids, and other phytochemicals are examples of these. The components of the nuts are rich, effective, and diverse to prevent many unexpected complications such as cardiovascular disease and prolong survival.

Different nuts on a wooden table
Different nuts on a wooden table

What are the nut components that have a benefit on health?

Nuts contain mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, fibre, folate, tocopherols, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and other nutrients.

The following statements demonstrate the impact of various nut components on well-being:

  • Unsaturated fatty acids: Unsaturated fatty acids affect maintaining cell membrane functions, preventing and blocking inflammation, and lowering the risk of developing heart disease.
  • Folate: Humans cannot produce folate and we must obtain it from food or supplements. Low folate levels have been linked to a variety of heart diseases, cognitive disorders, and cancer.
  • Tocopherols: Tocopherols are the primary form of vitamin E in some of its forms. It is an immune booster, and a lack of it has been linked to a variety of diseases including cancer, heart disease, and stroke.
  • Calcium: Calcium ions play an important role in heart function preservation.
  • Magnesium: Magnesium is required for the body's metabolic function to work effectively. Low magnesium levels have been linked to a variety of diseases, including heart disease, migraine, and cognitive disorders.
  • Phytosterols: Plant-derived phytosterols are well known for their cholesterol-lowering properties. Phytosterols have been shown to reduce the risk of stroke, heart disease, and high cholesterol levels.
  • Polyphenols: Polyphenols such as flavonoids are powerful antioxidants that have an impact on cardiovascular disease and infectious diseases.
  • Potassium: Potassium is one of the most important components of nuts, and it aids in the preservation of kidney and heart function. Potassium's other activities include blood pressure regulation and stroke prevention.

What are the types of nuts that have health benefits?

Some nuts are more valuable than others because they contain more diverse and richer ingredients. The most important types of nuts are hazelnut, almond, and walnut, and they should be included in your diet.

Different types of nuts on the table inside the plates
Different types of nuts on the table inside the plates

How to include nuts in your diet?

A meta-analysis (a type of research that combines different similar articles to generate reliable results) published in the British Journal of Nutrition (2) revealed statistically that nuts have a significant impact on health. Consuming more nuts reduces the risk of fatal heart disease by 37%. Researchers also estimated that consuming 30 grams of nuts weekly reduces the risk of fatal heart disease by more than 8%.

Until now, this article has helped us understand the importance of nut consumption, valuable nut components, the most popular types of nuts, and their impact on health. It is now time to reveal the answer to a question. How should you incorporate nuts into your diet?

The PREDIMED trial (3) is one of the largest-scale studies that investigated the impact of nuts on health and well-being. The trial lasted an average of four years and involved 7,447 people of mixed genders. The participants were split into two groups. Only one group was instructed about the benefits of nuts and a healthy Mediterranean diet, while the other was not.

According to the study, people who consume 30 grams of nuts daily have a 28% lower risk of developing heart failure and a 46% lower risk of developing stroke.

The recipe below is the statistically confirmed and only evidence-based recipe answering the question of how to include nuts into your diet.

Conclusion

Nuts have numerous health and well-being benefits, as well as a longer life expectancy. Their various advantages include lowering the risk of heart disease and stroke, which are the keys to living longer.  A healthy diet should not only include nuts but also other healthy food products that can have a synergistic effect on your health. Nuts are important, but they are only one of the keys to success.