A recent study has found that higher intakes of total nuts and tree nuts are associated with significantly lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) and ischemic heart disease (IHD).
This prospective cohort study, which was published in the Journal of Nutrition, was designed to examine the links between nut intake and the risk of death from CVD and IHD. Researchers followed a total of 80,529 participants for an average period of just over 11 years. During this period, 4,258 CVD deaths, including 1,529 IHD deaths, were recorded.
Participants’ dietary intake was assessed via food frequency questionnaire. Researchers examined participants’ total nut intake (tree nuts, peanuts, and peanut butter) as well as their tree nut intake (almonds, cashews, walnuts, and mixed nuts).
The findings showed that higher total nut intake was significantly associated with lower risk of death from either CVD or IHD, when comparing the 90th with the 10th percentile of intake. Higher tree nut intake was even more strongly linked to lower risk of CVD and IHD mortality. Moreover, substitution analysis showed that replacing unprocessed or processed red meat with total nuts or tree nuts was associated with lower CVD and IHD mortality risk.
The researchers concluded that these results support dietary recommendations to increase nut consumption as part of a heart-healthy diet.
Suprono, M. S., Shavlik, D. J., Butler, F. M., Sabaté, J., Fraser, G. E., & Orlich, M. J. (2025). Nut Consumption and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Ischemic Heart Disease Mortality: The Adventist Health Study 2. The Journal of Nutrition, S0022-3166(25)00641-8. Advance online publication.