The body of evidence about nuts and health continues to grow. These local and international research papers, published around May 2024, corroborate decades of research about the importance of a regular handful of nuts within a healthy diet.

Effect of nuts on anthropometric and glycemic indexes and blood pressure in secondary cardiovascular prevention: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. (Bersch-Ferreira et al, 2024).
Nut-enriched diets have a positive impact on cardiovascular risk factors, such as body mass, blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose. But the impact of nut consumption in people with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, undergoing secondary cardiovascular prevention, is less clear. This review analysed the findings of five randomised clinical trials (n = 436) in this area. These ran for between 6 and 12 weeks, using nut portions of between 5g and 85g (median: 30 g/day). Nut supplementation had no effect on blood pressure, fasting glucose, or anthropometric profile, although the certainty of the evidence for most of these outcomes was low or very low.

Current options in the management of tree nut allergy: A systematic review and narrative synthesis. (Pasioti et al, 2024).
This systematic review outlines current and potential therapeutic options for desensitising people with IgE-mediated tree nut allergy. Even though strict avoidance remains the standard of care for people with tree nut allergies, growing evidence suggests tree nut immunotherapy may be a useful alternative approach in clinical practice. Oral immunotherapy, single or multi-nut, with or without omalizumab, is the most studied approach and appears effective in conferring protection from accidental exposures.

Cardiovascular mortality attributable to dietary risk factors in 54 countries in the WHO European Region from 1990 to 2019: An updated systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study. (Porschmann et al, 2024).
This study estimated the link between single dietary risk factors and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), specific to the WHO European Region, using data from the Global Burden of Diseases Study. Thirteen dietary risks and 13 forms of CVDs were included. Most diet-related cardiovascular deaths were caused by a diet low in whole grains (21%), followed by a diet low in legumes (15%), a diet high in sodium (12%), a diet high in red meat (9%), and a diet low in nuts and seeds (7%). Overall, around 80% of deaths were due to ischaemic heart disease, which was the most common cause of death in the European countries.

Life expectancy gains from dietary modifications: A comparative modelling study in seven countries. (Fadnes et al, 2024).
This modeling study used data from meta-analyses presenting dose-response relationships between the intake of fifteen food groups and mortality, across seven countries. It showed an increase of between 5.2 to 9.7 years in life expectancy, following transition from country-specific typical dietary patterns to ‘longevity-optimising’ dietary changes, more feasible dietary modifications, and optimised vegan dietary changes. Including more whole grains, legumes, and nuts, and less red/processed meats, sugars, and sugar-sweetened beverages, resulted in the largest life expectancy gains.

Effects of dietary interventions on cardiovascular outcomes: A network meta-analysis. (Doundoulakis et al, 2024).
This network meta-analysis, of randomised controlled trials, investigated the effects of different diets or dietary patterns on all-cause mortality and cardiovascular outcomes. Seventeen trials, with 83,280 participants, were included. When compared with the control diet, only the Mediterranean diet showed a reduction in cardiovascular deaths (risk ratio = 0.59; 95% confidence interval, 0.42-0.82). And the Mediterranean diet was the only dietary strategy that decreased the risk of major cardiovascular events, myocardial infarction, angina, and all-cause mortality.

Long-term adherence to the Mediterranean diet reduces 20-year diabetes incidence: The ATTICA cohort study (2002–2022). (Kechagia et al, 2024).
This prospective cohort study, of 3,042 men and women from Greece, found that long-term adherence to the Mediterranean diet is protective against developing type 2 diabetes. Participants that more closely adhered to the Mediterranean diet throughout the study period (across 20 years) had an improved glycemic and lipidemic profile (at baseline and at 10-years follow-up), and a 21% reduction in their 20-year risk of developing type 2 diabetes, compared to those who continuously strayed away from the traditional dietary pattern.