Question: Are nuts good for mental health? I recently read that nuts helped with depression.
Answer: Nuts are the chameleon of the food and nutrition world – seamlessly shifting from the realm of tasty, savoury snack offered alongside a cold beer on a night out to topping the healthiest food lists worldwide. Nuts are delicious and nutritious, and therein lies the bonus – because, as you suggest, recent research has found nuts benefit our cardiovascular and mental health, too.
Peanuts and tree nuts are rich in essential micronutrients, including folate, niacin, vitamin E and vitamin B6. They’re also rich in several macronutrients, such as mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, dietary fibre, phytoestrogens, phytochemicals and essential minerals, including copper, magnesium, potassium and zinc.
The fact that nuts are packed with all these healthful nutrients and good fats probably explains why studies have consistently shown that people who eat nuts regularly have a lower mortality and cardiovascular disease risk. For instance, observational studies have found that people who eat more nuts tend to have lower levels of bad LDL cholesterol and a lower heart disease risk. And clinical trials have revealed that adding nuts to people’s diets decreases their cholesterol levels.
A systematic review published in 2021 in Advances in Nutrition found a higher intake of total nuts (including peanuts) and tree nuts is associated with a lower risk of cancer and mortality.
More recently, nut consumption has also been linked to mental health benefits. An observational study published in September in Clinical Nutrition used data from the UK Biobank study to determine if there was a link between nut consumption and depression risk.
The research investigated the association prospectively over five years, providing more robust evidence than previous studies that have only taken a snapshot of nut consumption and depression at one time. After following a group of 13,504 depression-free participants for about five years, researchers noted that those who regularly consumed 30g of nuts a day were 17% less likely to have developed depression during the study.
Nuts may improve mental health through multiple pathways. For example, they contain antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory effects, which could reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, thereby reducing depression risk.
They also contain prebiotics that feed the beneficial bacteria in our gut. So, they may help promote a healthier gut microbiome, positively influencing mental health through the gut-brain connection. Nuts are also rich in amino acids, and lower levels of specific amino acids have been linked to depression.
Whatever the mechanism, the evidence suggests regular nut consumption benefits our physical and mental health. The real problem is that so few people consume nuts regularly, often because they incorrectly believe nuts are not a healthy option, a 2020 study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health noted.
For instance, there is widespread belief that nuts cause excessive weight gain, yet studies have repeatedly shown that they do not. The high fat content in nuts may have led people to assume they are unhealthy but the fats found in nuts are good unsaturated fats that benefit our health, so do not need to be avoided.
Try adding a small handful of raw nuts to your daily diet: it is a tasty way to benefit your overall health and wellbeing. Unlike other foods, nuts do not need to be cooked or included in complicated new recipes or bought from a specialist store – they are easily accessible and highly convenient as a snack food and can have a tangible effect on your health.
Check out the bulk bins in supermarkets for good deals on nuts, or even try a nut butter if you can’t stomach the price or crunch of whole nuts (choose sugar- and salt-free nut butters).
