Men and women who eat a small handful of nuts and peanuts every day have a lower risk of dying from several major causes of death than those who don’t, according to researchers at Maastricht University.

However, there is no protective effect from peanut butter, the researchers found. The results were published on Thursday in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

The reduction in mortality was strongest for respiratory disease, neuro-degenerative disease and diabetes, followed by cancer and cardiovascular diseases, and applied equally to men and women, the research showed.

This study was carried out as part of the Netherlands Cohort Study, a research project running since 1986 and covering 120,000 Dutch men and women aged 55 to 69.

The participants were asked about how often and how much peanuts, other nuts (tree nuts) and peanut butter they ate. The researchers from Maastricht then analysed the relationship with overall and cause-specific mortality.

Remarkable

Project leader and epidemiologist Piet van den Brandt said the results were ‘remarkable’. ‘Substantially lower mortality was observed at consumption levels of 15 grams of nuts or peanuts on average per day,’ he said.

People who ate more nuts than half a handful did not reduce their risk of dying still further, Van den Brandt said.

Peanuts and tree nuts both contain various compounds such as fatty acids, various vitamins, fiber, antioxidants and other compounds which may contribute to the lower death rates.

Peanut butter also contains added components like salt and vegetable oils which could inhibit the protective effects of peanuts, the researchers said.