Peanuts as Health Food!

I’m Chet and I’m a salt-a-holic—specifically, nuts and especially peanuts—so when I caught a headline about peanuts in my research feed, I had to check it out. The title of the paper included the words “skin-roasted peanut consumption” so whatever the study was about, I was in. We hear a lot about peanut allergies, but today let’s look at potential health benefits.

Researchers in the Netherlands wanted to find out whether peanut consumption would have the same mpact on blood flow to the brain and improve memory as prior research had shown with other nuts. The 31 subjects, average age 67, served as their own controls. They ate 60 grams of unsalted skin-roasted peanuts (about a half cup) every day for 16 weeks, took 8 weeks off to washout any short-term benefits, and then ate no nuts for another 16 weeks.

The technology used in this study was astounding, from measuring blood flow to different areas of the brain using two different methods, food frequency questionnaires, cognitive tests, and even tests of strength. When all was said and done, there was about a 3.6% and 4.5% increase in blood flow to two regions of the brain, a 5 point drop in systolic blood pressure, and an improvement in cognitive testing.

The question is why? Why would eating roughly 340 calories of peanuts a day increase blood flow to the brain? We’ll cover that on Saturday.

In this current state of uncertain healthcare coverage, you need a personal advocate to help you make the right choices for your health. Tomorrow is the final Insiders Conference call for the year. We’re going to cover a variety of topics as well as answer Insider questions. Become an Insider by 8 p.m. tomorrow night, and you can take part.

What are you prepared to do today?