New Study Links Tree Nuts to Reduced Obesity

Nuts do more than cause allergic reactions. A new study published in PLOS ONE, Loma Linda University Health's peer-reviewed online science and medicine journal, funded by the International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research and Education Foundation, suggests that consumption of tree nuts is associated with lower cases of obesity and metabolic syndrome. Researchers from Loma Linda University School of Public Health studied the nut consumption of 803 Seventh-day Adventist adults who are subjects from the Adventist Heath Study 2, possibly the largest study involving vegetarians. The study observed subjects with a wide variety of nut consumption; subjects on the high end of the spectrum ate as many as 16 grams per day while low tree nut consumers ate five grams per day. Those in the study ate various kinds of tree nuts, including almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts “Our results showed that one serving (28 grams or one ounce) of tree nuts per week was significantly associated with seven percent less metabolic syndrome,” said lead researcher Karen Jaceldo-Siegl, DrPH. “Doubling this consumption could potentially reduce metabolic syndrome risk by 14 percent,” she said. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors shown to be an increased risk for chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases and type-2 diabetes; and death. In addition, Jaceldo-Siegl said, there were fewer cases of obesity among high tree nut consumers compared with low tree nut consumers. “Tree nut consumption in this population has strong inverse association with obesity,’ she said. To read the complete report, visit:dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0085133