The body of evidence about nuts and health continues to grow. These local and international research papers, published around October 2023, corroborate decades of research about the importance of a regular handful of nuts within a healthy diet.

Association of tree nut consumption with cardiovascular disease and cardiometabolic risk factors and health outcomes in US adults: NHANES 2011–2018. (Lopez-Nayman et al, 2023).
The cross-sectional study, of 18,150 US-based adults aged ≥20 years (part of the NHANES 2011-2018 dataset), found just 8% of all participants consumed tree nuts (defined as those consuming ≥¼ ounce, or 7.09g nuts, per day). The average (mean) usual intake among these tree nut consumers was 39.5 ± 1.8g/day. Among the findings, tree nut consumers were less likely to have obesity, low HDL-cholesterol, and elevated apolipoprotein B, and had a lower mean waist circumference, compared with those who did not consume nuts.

Legumes and nuts intake in relation to metabolic health status, serum brain derived neurotrophic factor and adropin levels in adults. (Assi et al, 2023).
This cross-sectional study, involving 527 Iranian adults, explored the link between legume and nut intake and metabolic health. It found that higher consumption of legumes and nuts was linked with lower odds of a ‘metabolic unhealthy’ phenotype, in people of both normal weight and with overweight/obesity. Higher consumption of legumes and nuts was also related to decreased odds of some components of metabolic health status, including hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and hypertension.

Effect of peanut paste-based ready-to-use school meals with and without milk on fluid cognition in Northern Ghana: A randomized controlled trial. (Stephenson et al, 2023).
In this trial, 871 children from Northern Ghana, aged 5-12 years, randomly received either a peanut/milk ready-to-use food (PM-RUF) paste, a peanut/cowpea ready-to-use food (PC-RUF) paste, or millet porridge (FP), daily over the school year. Each provided ∼1,715kJ/day, and all were micronutrient-fortified. The PM-RUF, compared with the FP, resulted in superior fluid cognition – due to improvements in executive function and processing speed. The researchers say this could offer an affordable, scalable option for improving childhood cognition.  

Yearly attained adherence to Mediterranean diet and incidence of diabetes in a large randomized trial. (Martinez-Gonzalez et al, 2023).
This study builds upon the large PREDIMED cardiovascular disease prevention trial, by measuring (yearly) adherence to the dietary patterns included in the trial. It found that higher adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern – high in extra virgin olive oil, fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, fish, and seafood; with moderate consumption of alcohol; and low intake of red and processed meat, whole-fat dairy, sodas, and sweets – reduced the incidence of type 2 diabetes in people at high cardiovascular risk.

Associations between plant-based dietary patterns and risks of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality – A systematic review and meta-analysis. (Wang et al, 2023).
In this meta-analysis of 55 prospective cohort studies, involving more than 2.2 million participants, greater adherence to plant-based dietary patterns (especially from healthy food sources) was inversely associated with risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all-cause mortality. The study authors say it provides further evidence in support of dietary recommendations that emphasize high-quality plant-based foods.