Hungry? Grab a handful of nuts.
Almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts and pistachios have long been called heart-healthy, and now, a new study provides more evidence to the long-held belief.
"There's a general perception that if you eat more nuts you're going to get fat. Our results show the opposite," said Dr. Ying Bao of Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School looked at nut consumption and deaths from all causes among 76,464 women participating in the Nurse's Health Study and 42,498 men involved in the "Health Professionals Follow-up Study."
According to NBC News, compared with people who never ate nuts, those who had them less than once a week reduced their risk of death 7 percent; once a week, 11 percent; two to four times a week, 13 percent; and seven or more times a week, 20 percent.
"Compared with those who did not eat nuts, individuals who consumed nuts, serving size of one ounce, or three tablespoons, seven or more times per week had a 20 percent lower death rate and this association was dose-dependent," Bao said in a statement. "Those who consumed more nuts were also leaner, and tended to have a healthy lifestyle, such as smoking less and exercising more."
Dr. David Katz, director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center, who is not affiliated with the study, said though the study can't prove that eating more nuts will keep you alive longer.
"One potentially important reason why nuts reduce disease risk and death is what they add to the diet, another is what they remove from the diet," Katz said. "People who eat more nuts are likely eating them instead of other foods, perhaps snack foods apt to be far less nutritious."
According to the study, nuts contain nutrients such as unsaturated fats; high-quality protein; vitamins such as E, folate and niacin; minerals such as magnesium, calcium and potassium, and phytochemicals.
Many previous studies tie nut consumption to lower risks of heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer and other maladies.
In 2003, the Food and Drug Administration said a handful of nuts a day as part of a low-fat diet may reduce the risk of heart disease. The heart association recommends four servings of unsalted, unoiled nuts a week. The study also warns against eating too many, since they are dense in calories. The study was partially funded by the International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research & Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization representing nine tree nut industries, but the group reportedly played no role in the research or results.
The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
