Eating nuts and peanuts reduces the risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke, a new study claims. Researchers found they were linked with a reduced risk of death from heart disease among people on low incomes.
However experts cautioned today that salt-covered nuts would not have the same health benefits. Nuts are rich in nutrients and peanuts, although classified as legumes, have nutrients similar to tree nuts.
The new study, led by Dr Xiao-Ou Shu, of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Tennessee, analysed various groups of people.
這項新的研究是由美國田納西州范德畢特大學醫學院的舒曉鷗博士領導的,分別研究了不同的人群。
One involved 72,000 low-income black and white men and women living in the US, the other 134,000 men and women living in Shanghai, China.
其中一個包括了7.2萬在美國居住的低收入白人和黑人,另外13.4萬人是住在中國上海的人。
In both groups, men ate more peanuts than women.
在這兩個群體中,男性比女性花生吃得多。
In the US group, about half of the nuts consumed were peanuts, and in the Chinese group only peanut consumption was assessed.
在美國群體中,他們吃的堅果里大約一半都是花生;至于中國群體,他們只評估了吃花生的攝入量。
The researchers found that across the board, eating nuts reduced the risk of death from heart disease.
研究人員發現從全面來看,吃堅果能降低心臟病死亡的風險。
This was regardless of gender, race, BMI, smoking, alcohol consumption and conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.
這跟性別、種族、體質、是否抽煙、是否喝酒以及是否有糖尿病、高血壓跟肥胖癥無關。
In the US, the highest consumption resulted in a risk reduction of 21 percent.
在美國,對于常吃花生或堅果的人,死亡風險比極少吃這類食物的人低21%。
In the Chinese group, it was 17 percent.
在中國群體中,吃花生最多的人(的死亡風險)比吃花生最少的人低17%。
Dr Shu said: 'We observed no significant associations between nut or peanut consumption and risk of death due to cancer and diabetes。
舒博士說:“我們還沒有發現吃堅果或者花生跟癌癥和糖尿病患者死亡風險之間有什么顯著的關聯。”
She added the findings highlight the large public health impact of nut or peanut consumption in lowering deaths from heart disease - especially given their affordability.
The research was published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
這項研究在《美國醫學會雜志·內科學卷》上發表。
Dr Mitchell Katz, deputy editor of the journal, added: 'Of course, peanuts are not really nuts - they are legumes since they grow in bushes, unlike tree nuts.