Eating nuts regularly lowers your heart disease risk

In Massachusetts, a new study indicates that people who regularly eat nuts, including peanuts, walnuts and tree nuts, have a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease or coronary heart disease compared to people who never or almost never eat nuts.

The study is the largest to date looking at the frequency of nut consumption in relation to the incidence of cardiovascular disease. The study found a consistent inverse association between total nut consumption and total cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease.

The researchers found that people who ate walnuts one or more times per week had a 21 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease; participants who ate peanuts or tree nuts two or more times per week had a 23 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease; and, people who consumed five or more servings of nuts a week had a 20 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease.