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Nuts

News & Research:

• For healthier salted nuts, use Morton Lite Salt: How to Salt Unsalted Nuts - pantryandlarder.com - "Boil some water in a pan ... Put your nuts in a strainer and place them over the boiling water for around 30 seconds. The steam will coat the nuts with a layer of sticky water. Stir the nuts to make sure they’re all exposed to the steam ... Immediately sprinkle the nuts with the desired amount of salt and toss ... Leave the nuts to air dry for a few minutes before serving"
• Frequent consumption of peanuts by cancer patients may increase risk of cancer spread, study finds - Science Daily, 8/4/21 - "Peanut agglutinin (PNA) -- a carbohydrate-binding protein that rapidly enters into the blood circulation after peanuts are eaten -- interacts with blood vascular wall (endothelial) cells to produce molecules called cytokines ... the possibility remains that circulating PNA, at least at the relatively high levels found shortly after a large "dose" of peanuts, could have a significant biological effect on tumour cells circulating at that time, with a potential for increased risk of metastasis. Heavy or very frequent peanut consumption therefore might be better avoided by cancer patients"
• Walnuts Shell Out Little Protection Against - Medscape, 2/7/20 - "Although there were no statistically significant differences between those who ate walnuts for 2 years vs controls who did not eat walnuts, we did find that there were protective trends in subjects at higher risk — meaning, those with lower baseline consumption of omega-3 fatty acids in their diet, smokers, or those with lower baseline cognitive scores"
• More Nuts Improve Men's Orgasmic Function, Sexual Desire - Medscape, 8/9/19 - "The randomized controlled trial, which was recently published in Nutrients, showed a significant increase in the orgasmic function (P = .037) and sexual desire (P = .040) of men of reproductive age who received the nut intervention in comparison with an age-matched control group ... Nuts are nutrient-dense foods that have a relatively high amount of the nonessential amino acid arginine, a precursor of nitric oxide, which is a potent neurotransmitter that plays an important role in erectile action"
• Nut consumption may aid colon cancer survival - Science Daily, 2/28/18 - "The study followed 826 participants in a clinical trial for a median of 6.5 years after they were treated with surgery and chemotherapy. Those who regularly consumed at least two, one-ounce servings of nuts each week demonstrated a 42% improvement in disease-free survival and a 57% improvement in overall survival ... Further analysis of this cohort revealed that disease-free survival increased by 46% among the subgroup of nut consumers who ate tree nuts rather than peanuts ... Tree nuts include almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, and pecans, among others. In contrast, peanuts are actually in the legumes family of foods ... Many previous studies have reported that nuts, among other health benefits, may help to reduce insulin resistance, a condition in which the body has difficulty processing the insulin hormone. Insulin resistance leads to unhealthy levels of sugar in the blood and is often a predecessor to type 2 diabetes and related illnesses"
• Almonds may help boost cholesterol clean-up crew - Science Daily, 8/11/17 - "compared to the control diet, the almond diet increased ?-1 HDL -- when the particles are at their largest size and most mature stage -- by 19 percent. Additionally, the almond diet improved HDL function by 6.4 percent, in participants of normal weight"
• Peanuts, peanut butter may hold key to preventing obesity - Science Daily, 3/4/16 - "Instructors guided 257 Latino adolescents from three Houston-area charter schools through a program of physical activity and nutrition education. About half the students received a snack of peanuts or peanut butter three to four times a week, while the rest received the snack fewer than once a week ... At the end of the period, those students who received the snack more regularly experienced a decrease in their overall BMI (-.7kg/m2) compared to those who did not receive the regular peanut snack (-.3kg/m2). The researchers conclude that afterschool programs and schools can replace energy dense, unhealthy snacks with peanuts to provide a healthier alternative for children" - See Planters Trail Mix, Fruit & Nut, 2-oz. Bags (Count of 72) which is what I have for dessert every evening.  They're also great for hiking.
• Diet That Helps You Live Longer May Keep Your Mind Sound, Too - nbcnews.com, 5/11/15 - "Two groups were assigned to follow the Mediterranean diet and told to add either five 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil a day or a handful of mixed nuts. The third group got the low-fat advice ... The group who ate the extra nuts did better in terms of memory and the group given extra virgin olive oil performed better on tests that required quick thinking ... Just over 13 percent of those who got extra olive oil were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, which may or may not lead to Alzheimer's disease. Just 7 percent of those who got nuts were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, while around 13 percent of those who got neither developed memory loss ... But many of the patients actually saw their memories get better over the four years. On average, those in the low-fat-only group lost some memory and thinking skills, but those who got extra nuts had their memory skills improve on average, while those who got olive oil had improvements in problem-solving and planning skills" - [Abstract]
• Eight nutrients to protect the aging brain - Science Daily, 4/15/15 - "A diet supplemented with walnuts may have a beneficial effect in reducing the risk, delaying the onset, or slowing the progression of Alzheimer's disease in mice (Muthaiyah, 2014)"
• Mediterranean Diet Cuts Type 2 Diabetes Risk by a Third - Medscape, 1/6/14 - "The Mediterranean diet is high in fat (30% to 40% of total calories) from vegetable sources such as olive oil and nuts and relatively low in dairy products. The diet also commonly includes sauces with tomato, onions, garlic, and spices and moderate wine consumption ... enrolled 7447 men and women aged 55 to 80 years who did not have CVD at baseline but were at risk for it. They were randomized to 1 of 3 diets: a Mediterranean diet supplemented with either EVOO (50 mL/d) or mixed nuts (30 g/d) or a control diet with advice to reduce intake of all types of fat ... both Mediterranean diets cut the CVD event risk by as much as 30% compared with the controls at 4.8 years of follow-up ... CVD effects of the Mediterranean diet are believed to be due to its inclusion of ingredients containing various minerals, polyphenols, and other phytochemicals that combat oxidative stress, inflammation, and insulin resistance ... It's not clear why the Mediterranean diet supplemented with mixed nuts failed to show a significant diabetes reduction benefit ... Another reason may be that the foods that one eats with olive oil are better for preventing diabetes than those one eats with nuts. Or the higher monounsaturated-fat intake of the EVOO is more important than the polyunsaturated fatty acids from the nuts" - Note:  Nuts have about four times as much omega-6 as omega-3.  Olive oil is mostly omega-9.
• Study suggests new benefits of eating nuts for patients with metabolic syndrome - Science Daily, 11/11/11
• Benefits of nut consumption for people with abdominal obesity, high blood sugar, high blood pressure - Science Daily, 11/2/11
• Trigger Of Deadly Food Toxin Discovered; Finding Could Help Prevent Liver Cancer - Science Daily, 10/21/09 - "A toxin produced by mold on nuts and grains can cause liver cancer if consumed in large quantities ... Because of lax or nonexistent regulation, 4.5 billion people in developing countries are chronically exposed to vast amounts of this toxin, called aflatoxin -- often hundreds of times higher than safe levels"
• Walnuts and fish affect heart health differently - Nutra USA, 4/23/09
• Walnuts Fight Breast Cancer - WebMD, 4/21/09 - "Standard testing showed that eating walnuts cut the risk of developing breast tumors in half ... If mice did get breast tumors, the growth rate was also slowed, by 50% ... Extrapolating to humans, this would be about a nine-year delay"
• Adding Walnuts To Good Diet May Help Older People Improve Motor And Behavioral Skills - Science Daily, 4/19/09 - "the 6 percent walnut study diet is equivalent to a human eating 1 ounce, or about 7 to 9 walnuts, a day ... The study found that in aged rats, the diets containing 2 percent or 6 percent walnuts were able to improve age-related motor and cognitive shortfalls, while the 9 percent walnut diet impaired reference memory. Walnuts, eaten in moderation, appear to be among other foods containing polyphenols and bioactive substances that exhibit multiple effects on neural tissue"
• Metabolic Syndrome? Nuts! - WebMD, 12/8/08 - "A group that was given personalized advice on the Mediterranean diet and about 2 tablespoons of mixed nuts (1/2 walnuts, 1/4 almonds, and 1/4 hazelnuts) each day ... A year later, nobody lost weight. And about the same number of people developed newly diagnosed metabolic syndrome in each group ... But among patients who already had metabolic syndrome, those in the nut group were 70% more likely to have reversal of metabolic syndrome than those in the control group"
• Study: Pistachios May Lower LDL Cholesterol - WebMD, 9/11/08
• Pistachios Lower Cholesterol, Provide Antioxidants - Science Daily, 4/30/07 - "Pistachio amounts of 1.5 ounces and 3 ounces -- one to two handfuls -- reduced risk for cardiovascular disease by significantly reducing LDL cholesterol levels and the higher dose significantly reduced lipoprotein ratios"
• Pistachios May Calm Acute Stress Reaction - Science Daily, 4/30/07
• Hawaiian Treasure, Macadamia Nuts Good For The Heart - Science Daily, 4/30/07
• Walnuts Protect Arteries From Fat - WebMD, 10/9/06 - "the high-fat meal had less of a blood-vessel effect on those who ate the walnuts than on those who ate the olive oil ... walnuts contain a fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid. This plant-based fatty acid is similar to omega-3 fatty acid found in fish"
• Antioxidant-rich Pecans Can Protect Against Unhealthy Oxidation - Science Daily, 10/3/06 - "adding just a handful of pecans to your diet each day may inhibit unwanted oxidation of blood lipids, thus helping reduce the risk of heart disease. Researchers suggest that this positive effect was in part due to the pecan's significant content of vitamin E ... Pecans are especially rich in one form of vitamin E -- gamma tocopherol"
• More support for pistachios’ heart health benefits - Nutra USA, 5/31/06
• Pistachios Pummel Cholesterol - WebMD, 12/9/05 - "Among commonly eaten nuts and seeds, pistachios and sunflower seeds had the highest phytosterol content"
• Including Walnuts in a Low-Fat/Modified-Fat Diet Improves HDL Cholesterol-to-Total Cholesterol Ratios in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes - Medscape, 12/8/04
• Walnuts May Improve Lipid Profile in Type 2 Diabetes - Medscape, 12/1/04
• Peanuts Can Be Mother Nature's Vitamin Pill, USDA Data Shows - Medical News Today, 12/1/04 - "The 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has discovered that vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, potassium and fiber, are all lacking in typical American diets. This study shows that eating a daily serving of peanuts or peanut butter can help children and adults meet nutrient needs"
• Are Nuts a Healthy Nibble? - Dr. Weil, 5/31/04
• FDA clears walnut health claim - Nutra USA, 4/1/04
• Almonds May Help in Weight Loss - WebMD, 11/7/03
• New Peanuts A Hearty Alternative - CBS News, 8/14/03
• Low-Cholesterol Diet as Good as Drugs - WebMD, 7/22/03 - "a vegetarian diet combining four types of cholesterol-lowering foods works as well as cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins ... It had four basic components: plant sterols in the form of a cholesterol-lowering margarine; soy proteins; sticky or soluble fibers such as fruits, vegetables, oats, and legumes; and almonds"
• FDA OK's Nutty Heart Health Claim - WebMD, 7/17/03
• The Importance of Nuts and Seeds in Your Diet - Dr. Murray's Natural Facts, 7/16/03
• Macadamia Nut Consumption Lowers Cholesterol in Men - New Hope Natural Media, 7/10/03

Abstracts:

• Intake of Nuts and Seeds Is Associated with a Lower Prevalence of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in US Adults: Findings from 2005-2018 NHANES - J Nutr 2021 Sep 15 - "Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease globally. Nuts and seeds, due to their unique nutrient composition, may provide health benefits for the prevention of NAFLD ... Daily consumption for nuts and seeds was associated with a lower prevalence of NAFLD in non-Mediterranean, US adults, although the benefits seem to be greater in females across all categories of nut and seed consumption groups compared with nonconsumers. Both males and females presented with lower prevalence of NAFLD with intakes of 15-30 g/d"
• Walnut Oil Alleviates Intestinal Inflammation and Restores Intestinal Barrier Function in Mice - Nutrients. 2020 May 2 - "Ulcerative colitis belongs to inflammatory bowel diseases, which is a group of chronic disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. It is a debilitating condition with a wide range of symptoms including rectal bleeding, diarrhea, and visceral pain. Current dietary habits often lead to imbalance in n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in favor of n-6 PUFA. Recent data showed the potential anti-inflammatory advantage of n-3 PUFA. Walnut oil (WO) is rich in those fatty acids and mainly consists of linoleic and linolenic acids that may act via free fatty acids receptors (FFARs). We assessed the anti-inflammatory effect of WO in the mouse model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis. Moreover, we examined changes in the expression of tight junction proteins (TJ), pro-inflammatory cytokines, and FFAR proteins in the inflamed mouse colon. WO improves the damage score in inflamed tissue, significantly restoring ion transport and colonic wall permeability. Inflammation caused changes in TJ, FFAR, and pro-inflammatory gene proteins expression, which WO was able to partially reverse. WO has anti-inflammatory properties; however, its exact mechanism of action remains unclear. This stems from the pleiotropic effects of n-3 PUFA ligands associated with receptor distribution and targeted signaling pathways" - See walnut oil at Amazon.com and walnut oil at iHerb.
• Nut Consumption and Risk of Cancer: A Meta-analysis of Prospective Studies - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2020 Feb 10 - "Thirty-three studies that included more than 50,000 cancer cases were eligible for the analysis. When comparing the highest with the lowest category of nut intake, high consumption of nuts was significantly associated with decreased risk of overall cancer (RR = 0.90; 95% CI, 0.85-0.95). The protective effect of nut consumption was especially apparent against cancers from the digestive system (RR = 0.83; 95% CI, 0.77-0.89). Among different nut classes, significant association was only obtained for intake of tree nuts. We also observed a linear dose-response relationship between nut consumption and cancer: Per 20 g/day increase in nut consumption was related to a 10% (RR = 0.90; 95% CI, 0.82-0.99) decrease in cancer risk." - Note:  But the question you have to keep asking is whether or not the type of people who consume a lot of nuts are overall more health conscious to begin with.
• Consumption of Nuts and Seeds and Telomere Length in 5,582 Men and Women of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) - J Nutr Health Aging. 2017;21(3):233-240 - "Nuts and seeds intake was positively and linearly associated with telomere length. For each 1-percent of total energy derived from nuts and seeds, telomere length was 5 base pairs longer (F=8.6, P=0.0065). Given the age-related rate of telomere shortening was 15.4 base pairs per year (F=581.1, P<0.0001), adults of the same age had more than 1.5 years of reduced cell aging if they consumed 5% of their total energy from nuts and seeds" - Note: I always worry about the studies showing the benefits of nuts.  Nuts are high in omega-6 which promotes inflammation which is detrimental to aging.  I think the studies showing the benefits of nuts has to do with the fact that the people that eat them are more health conscious to begin with.
• A systematic review and meta-analysis of nut consumption and incident risk of CVD and all-cause mortality - Br J Nutr. 2015 Nov 9:1-14 - "In the twenty included prospective cohort studies (n 467 389), nut consumption was significantly associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality (ten studies; risk ratio (RR) 0.81; 95 % CI 0.77, 0.85 for highest v. lowest quantile of intake, P het=0.04, I 2=43 %), CVD mortality (five studies; RR 0.73; 95 % CI 0.68, 0.78; P het=0.31, I 2=16 %), all CHD (three studies; RR 0.66; 95 % CI 0.48, 0.91; P het=0.0002, I 2=88 %) and CHD mortality (seven studies; RR 0.70; 95 % CI 0.64, 0.76; P het=0.65, I 2=0 %), as well as a statistically non-significant reduction in the risk of non-fatal CHD (three studies; RR 0.71; 95 % CI 0.49, 1.03; P het=0.03, I 2=72 %) and stroke mortality (three studies; RR 0.83" - Note:  I still worry about the high omega-6 in nuts and wonder whether the lower mortality may be do the the lifestyle of people of consume nuts or some other constituent in them.  Maybe the vitamin E which you can get from supplements without all the calories offsets the affects of the omega-6.
• Effect of a walnut meal on postprandial oxidative stress and antioxidants in healthy individuals - Nutr J. 2014 Jan 10;13(1):4 - "Compared to the refined control meal, the walnut meal acutely increased postprandial gamma-tocopherol and catechins and attenuated some measures of oxidative stress" - Note:  I’m probably in the minority in that I’m not a believer in nuts being healthy. I don’t believe that calories don’t count nor that a 4 to 1 omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is good when American’s already get about a 20 to 1 ratio and you want to bring that down to between 4 to 1 and 2 to 1 depending on which source you believe. Plus for all those calories they taste bitter and it seems like a high caloric way to get those nutrients. That said it may be the gamma-tocopherol in walnut responsible for the walnuts benefits in some studies. Here’s what I take to cover gamma-tocopherol: Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
• Association of Nut Consumption with Total and Cause-Specific Mortality - N Engl J Med. 2013 Nov 21 - "We examined the association between nut consumption and subsequent total and cause-specific mortality among 76,464 women in the Nurses' Health Study (1980-2010) and 42,498 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2010) ... The pooled multivariate hazard ratios for death among participants who ate nuts, as compared with those who did not, were 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.90 to 0.96) for the consumption of nuts less than once per week, 0.89 (95% CI, 0.86 to 0.93) for once per week, 0.87 (95% CI, 0.83 to 0.90) for two to four times per week, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.79 to 0.91) for five or six times per week, and 0.80 (95% CI, 0.73 to 0.86) for seven or more times per week" - Note:  Yeah but no study will every make me believe that it doesn't pack on the pounds.
• Effects of walnuts on endothelial function in overweight adults with visceral obesity: a randomized, controlled, crossover trial - J Am Coll Nutr. 2012 Dec;31(6):415-23 - "Forty-six overweight adults (average age, 57.4 years; 28 women, 18 men) with elevated waist circumference and 1 or more additional signs of metabolic syndrome were randomly assigned to two 8-week sequences of walnut-enriched ad libitum diet and ad libitum diet without walnuts, which were separated by a 4-week washout period ... Daily ingestion of 56 g of walnuts improves endothelial function in overweight adults with visceral adiposity. The addition of walnuts to the diet does not lead to weight gain"
• Effects of pistachios on body weight in Chinese subjects with metabolic syndrome - Nutr J. 2012 Apr 3;11(1):20 - "randomized to consume either the recommended daily serving of 42 g pistachios (RSG), a higher daily serving of 70 g pistachio (HSG) or no pistachios (DCG) for 12 weeks ... glucose values 2 h after a 75 gm glucose challenge were significantly lower at week 12 compared with baseline values in the HSG group (1.13 +/- 2.58 mmol/L, p = 0.02), and a similar trend was noted in the RSG group (0.77 +/-2.07 mmol/L, p = 0.06), while no significant change was seen in the DCG group (0.15 +/- 2.27 mmol/L, p = 0.530). At the end of study, serum triglyceride levels were significantly lower compared with baseline in the RSG group (0.38 +/- 0.79 mmol/L, p = 0.018), but no significant changes were observed in the HSG or DCG groups ... Despite concerns that pistachio nut consumption may promote weight gain, the daily ingestion of either 42 g or 70 g of pistachios for 12 weeks did not lead to weight gain or an increase in waist-to-hip ratio in Chinese subjects with metabolic syndrome. In addition, pistachio consumption may improve the risk factor associated with the metabolic syndrome"
• Alternative Healthy Eating Index and mortality over 18 y of follow-up: results from the Whitehall II cohort - Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 May 25 - "Indexes of diet quality have been shown to be associated with decreased risk of mortality in several countries. It remains unclear if the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), designed to provide dietary guidelines to combat major chronic diseases, is related to mortality risk. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to examine the association between adherence to the AHEI and cause-specific mortality over 18 y of follow-up in a British working population. Design: Analyses are based on 7319 participants (mean age: 49.5 y; range: 39-63 y; 30.3% women) from the Whitehall II Study. Cox proportional hazards regression models were performed to analyze associations of the AHEI (scored on the basis of intake of 9 components: vegetables, fruit, nuts and soy, white or red meat, trans fat, polyunsaturated or saturated fat, fiber, multivitamin use, and alcohol) with mortality risk. Results: After potential confounders were controlled for, participants in the top compared with the bottom third of the AHEI score showed 25% lower all-cause mortality [hazard ratio (HR): 0.76; 95% CI: 0.61, 0.95] and >40% lower mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD; HR: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.37, 0.91). Consumption of nuts and soy and moderate alcohol intake appeared to be the most important independent contributors to decreased mortality risk. The AHEI was not associated with cancer mortality or noncancer/non-CVD mortality. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the encouragement of adherence to the AHEI dietary recommendations constitutes a valid and clear public health recommendation that would decrease the risk of premature death from CVD"
• Arecoline N-Oxide: Its Mutagenicity and Possible Role as Ultimate Carcinogen in Areca Oral Carcinogenesis - J Agric Food Chem. 2011 Mar 3 - "The areca nut is the most widely consumed psychoactive substance in Taiwan, India, and Southeast Asia. It is considered to be an environmental risk factor for the development of oral submucous fibrosis and cancer. Arecoline, the major alkaloid of areca nut, has been known to cause cytotoxicity and genotoxicity in various systems. However, the active compound accounting for arecoline-induced damage in normal human oral cells is still uncharacterized. The present study was undertaken to identify the active metabolite of arecoline that might induce damage in human oral tissues and cause mutagenicity in Salmonella typhimurium tester strains TA 100 and TA 98. It is interesting to find that the major metabolite of arecoline, arecoline N-oxide, is moderately mutagenic to these Salmonella tester strains. This mutagenicity was potently inhibited by sulfhydryl compounds, namely, glutathione, N-acetylcysteine, and cysteine, whereas methionine is inactive in this inhibition. The mutagenicity of arecoline N-oxide was strongly inhibited by the N-oxide reducing agent titanium trichloride. The possible role of arecoline N-oxide in the induction of oral carcinogenesis by areca nut chewing is discussed"
• Nut consumption, weight gain and obesity: Epidemiological evidence - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2011 Jan 7 - "Consumption of nuts was not associated with a higher risk of weight gain in long-term epidemiologic studies and clinical trials"
• Effects of pistachio nuts consumption on plasma lipid profile and oxidative status in healthy volunteers - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2006 Apr;16(3):202-9 - "These results indicated that consumption of pistachio nuts decreased oxidative stress, and improved total cholesterol and HDL levels in healthy volunteers"