We already are aware that peanuts are pretty much a god-sent food. Peanuts are great snacks on their own, make fruit taste better and make your favorite sweet bites exponentially more tasty.
Most people already associated peanuts and peanut butter with being a healthy food option (when eaten in moderation). They provide lots of protein and unsaturated fats with limited sugar and salt, if you’re buying the right kind.
Photo by Hannah Cather
Thanks to a new study published in JAMA International Medicine earlier this month, you now have all the more reason to continue your daily consumption of a serving of peanut butter.
According to this study conducted by researchers at Vanderbilt University and the Shanghai Cancer Institute, peanuts are associated with a reduced risk of mortality, especially cardiovascular mortality.
Photo by Hannah Cather
The study was a longitudinal study which included 3 cohort groups; one from the U.S. of a low socioeconomic group, and two from Shangai, one consisting of all men and the other all women.
The U.S. group self reported their nut consumption with 50% being peanuts, while the two Shangai cohorts reported peanut-only consumption.
Photo by Kiefer O’Toole
When the three groups were followed up 5-12 years later, researchers discovered that nut consumption was inversely correlated with mortality in all three cohorts.
This inverse association is mainly due to cardiovascular disease, which, when taken account for, was responsible for the deaths of the 14,440 deaths identified.
Photo by Hannah Cather
This study is important for further food health and science because, though previous studies have been done on the health benefits of peanuts, they were mainly conducted with people of European descent of high socioeconomic status.
This is the first cross cultural study that shows evidence for Caucasians, African Americans and Asians of high and low socioeconomic status benefiting from peanut consumption.
Photo by Kiefer O’Toole
This discovery could drastically change how people view peanuts, and may become a great aid in supporting cardiovascular help in the near future. For now, grab the jar of peanut butter from your pantry and feel totally justified as you dig in.
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