A Handful of Nuts Keeps the Doctor Away

An apple a day may be good for your health, but researchers have found that eating a handful of nuts works even better.

According to The International Nut & Dried Fruit Council (INC), people who eat just a handful of nuts per day are less likely to die from cancer or heart disease.

But, of course the nut council would say that, wouldn’t they?

Yes, but they are backed up by Harvard University who – about a year ago – published the results of some long-running studies into the health benefits of eating nuts.

We’re talking long-running here — as in 30 years of studying the subject.

The Harvard researchers concluded that daily nut-eaters were 20% less likely to have died during the course of the study than those who avoided nuts.

Now, that’s a healthy association, but it doesn’t prove causality, right? In other words, a guy that smokes, drinks, eats junk food and never exercises isn’t going to avoid cancer just by eating a few nuts each day. Nice try, nut council!

Still, you can’t argue with a strong association proven over three decades, by Hah-vd no less.

The researchers added that it doesn’t really matter which nuts you choose; they’re all good. So, if you like peanuts, walnuts, almonds, or pistachios, eat away. You can even go wild and eat some mixed nuts each day.

(By the way, did you know that peanuts aren’t really nuts? They’re actually legumes, but they counted as nuts in the study).

Go ahead, enjoy your fistful of delicious nuts each day. Just don’t eat them while sitting on a bar stool, then claim that you’re a health food devotee. Make sure those nuts are part of a healthy lifestyle.